CJC1162 Parole & Probation
Dr. E. C. Buchholz
Chapter 5
Classification and Supervision: Techniques of Evidence-Based Practices
Introduction
This chapter discusses the classification and supervisory functions of probation and parole
officers as they pertain to management of offenders in the community.
Supervision is an officer’s oversight of clients committed to his or her custody.
LO: 1
Introduction
Officers rely on evidence-based practices (EBP) for supervision:
• classification assessments
• case planning
• motivational interviewing
• cognitive-behavioral treatments
• principles of correctional intervention
Classification: The First Step in Supervision
 Classification: the supervising officer using an objective assessment scale to compute the
risks posed by the offender, identifying offender needs requiring intervention, & selecting
appropriate supervision and treatment strategies.
 Highest priority is on identifying risks that would jeopardize public safety
 Objective, actuarial prediction models: more reliable & efficient than subjective methods
Risk Assessment
 Risk assessment provides a measure of the probationer or parolee’s degree of dangerousness
to the public and also measures the offender’s propensity to engage in future criminal activity.
 Early assessments relied on interviewing the offender & using case-by-case, anecdotal
information
 Modern assessments use static factors involving previous behavior, which has already
happened & cannot be altered
 They also use dynamic factors which measure both negative & positive change over time
 Dynamic factors include: family relations, friends, emotional health, housing, leisure, &
financial situation
Level of Service Inventory-Revised (LSI-R)
 LSI-R: uses a 54 item scale that assigns numerical values to many factors identified in the
PSI
 It has been validated for use with male & female offenders & some juveniles
 A meta-analysis of 47 different studies of the LSI-R shows that it accurately targets high-risk
clients who are at greatest need of intervention, but that it more accurately predicts adult men
and is less accurate at predicting recidivism for women offenders (Vose, Cullen, and Smith,
2008).
LO: 2
Identifying Treatment Needs
 The officer identifies offender’s characteristics, conditions, or behaviors that limit motivation
and may lead to criminal behavior.
 Treatment activities are actions taken by the supervising officer intended to bring about
rehabilitation and reintegration into the law-abiding community.
 Both risk & needs assessments should identify types of services offender receives
LO: 2
Identifying Treatment Needs, Cont’d
 Treatment needs include drug or alcohol abuse, mental illness, anger management or
education or vocational deficiencies.
 Sources of information that may be used to identify treatment needs include the presentence
report, prison disciplinary records and the prerelease plan, physical or medical health
evaluations, records of drug or alcohol abuse and other related criminal conduct, financial
history, and residential history.
LO: 2
The Supervision Case Plan
Case Plan
 An individualized written plan that clarifies how each court-ordered condition is to be
fulfilled by the offender and the supervising officer based on risks & needs
LO: 3
The Supervision Case Plan cont’d
 Negotiated & signed by both parties
 Is reviewed periodically & can be modified
 Supervision issue: identified problem, characteristic, or pattern of conduct that requires
intervention
The Supervision Case Plan
 Supervision
o Oversight a Parole Officer exercises over those in his/her custody
 Issues addressed :
LO: 3
o Conditions imposed by the court
o Risk control
o Treatment
Implementing the Case Plan: Surveillance
 Surveillance means ascertaining that the offenders are meeting the conditions of supervision
imposed by the court or parole board.
 The most common form of surveillance is maintaining contact through face-to-face meetings
with each client in the office setting.
LO: 3
Implementing the Case Plan cont’d
 Other common types of contact: by phone & mail
Field Contact
 Personal visit to offender’s home or job
 Most valuable type of contact
Collateral Contact
 Verification of the probationer’s whereabouts by speaking with a third party who knows the
offender personally
o Employers
o Teachers
o Relatives
Warrantless Searches of Homes
 United States v. Knights, 2001
 Reasonable suspicion engaged in criminal activity
 Authorized by a condition of probation
Levels of Supervision
 Differentiate offenders who need close supervision from those who need less
 Many classification systems use the traditional categories—Three Level Supervision—of
maximum, medium and minimum.
 Other systems use max, high, standard, & administrative
LO: 4
Levels of Supervision
 The categories specify the smallest amount of contact requirements.
 Factors of contacts include:
o Type of contact
o Location of contact
o Frequency of contact
LO: 4
Differences for Each Supervision Level
Caseload and Workload Standards
 Caseload: the number of individuals or cases one officer can effectively supervise
o The more intensive the supervision, the lower the caseload
o The APPA recommends a workload standard of 120 hours per month
 Workload standard: assumes number of hours needed to supervise each client based on their
level of supervision & then calculates the maximum number of clients an officer can
supervise effectively
 The workload standard concept is preferable to allow for comparison, research and
interpreting work to legislators and others
LO: 4
Principles of Effective Correctional Intervention
 Paul Gendreau (1996) published the principles of effective intervention, which is currently
considered the basis by which correctional treatment programs should operate.
 8 principles explain what all treatment services should include:
1. Be intensive, occupying 40 to 70% of each day for 3 to 9 months
2. Contain cognitive-behavioral components to prepare the mind for the behavioral
change
LO: 3
Principles of Effective Correctional Intervention cont’d
3. Match the program level with client abilities or what the client can relate to according to
gender, age, cultural background and risk level. Higher risk level clients will make
greater strides.
4. Have positive reinforcements that should exceed punishments by a ratio of 4:1
5. Have minimum education and experience requirements for staff
LO: 3
Principles of Effective Correctional Intervention cont’d
6. Teach clients to replace criminal networks with prosocial ones
7. Provide relapse prevention and aftercare
8. Evaluate the program and assess the compliance of programs to the previous 7 principles
by using the Correctional Program Assessment Inventory (CPAI)
LO: 3
Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
 CBT is an effective method of helping a person change, and it is a blend of 2 different types
of therapies: cognitive therapy that prepares the mind, and behavioral change that conditions
the body.
 CBT is used to overcome phobias, quit habitual behaviors such as smoking, drinking, or drug
use, and to change old thinking patterns such as those linked to criminality.
LO: 3
Motivational Interviewing
 Considers community supervision as a two-way relationship between the officer and the
offender that is affected by the offender’s motivation to change, and with how the officer
responds to and encourages that change.
 An honest, direct relationship, along with good communication skills, is an effective means
of promoting change and ensuring successful completion of the term of probation.
LO: 3
Employment Assistance
 Employment is likely the single most important element in preventing recidivism for
probationers and parolees (Petersilia, 2003).
 Offenders are often the last to be hired and the first to be terminated.
 Some offenders are barred from employment in certain fields because of regulatory and
licensing laws that preclude people with criminal convictions.
LO: 3
Working with Women Offenders
 Most supervision techniques & treatment programs were developed to serve characteristics of
men
 Women on community supervision have typically entered the system because of a crime they
committed with a male partner (boyfriend, husband, or brother) or they acted alone out of
financial need
Working with Women Offenders cont’d
 Typical female offender has not completed high school & lacks employment skills
 3 out of 4 women have dependent children
 Many live below poverty line
 Many have been physically or sexually abused or neglected as children
 Often abuse continues into adulthood
 Generally pose less risk than men to the community
 Willing to share feelings & thoughts while on supervision
Working with Women Offenders cont’d
 Probation Officers should be well versed in issues such as:
o Pregnancy
o Parenting/childcare
o Domestic violence
o Sexual abuse
o Mental health educational opportunityies
o Substance abuse
 Should have ability to empathize with her past
LO: 6
Evaluation of Neighborhood-Based vs. Traditional Probation
 In neighborhood-based supervision (NBS), the probation officers conduct the supervision
and implement the case plan by being more visible and having a strong community presence.
 Cases are assigned to officers according to geographic beat areas in a community
LO: 5
Evaluation of Neighborhood-Based vs. Traditional Probation
 NBS officers develop partnerships with
o Police
o Treatment providers
o Faith-based organizations
 More likely to violate probationers for technical violations
 Overall recidivism rates not significantly different
LO: 5
Supervision Outside the State
Interstate Compact: agreement among the states by which they can supervise probationers &
parolees for each other
• Identifies sending state (state of conviction) & receiving state (where offender will be
supervised)
• Receiving state reports to sending state, but sending state retains authority to modify
conditions, revoke, or terminate supervision & can determine on what basis an offender may
be returned
• Usually offender must be resident of receiving state, have relatives there, or employment
• Sending state may enter receiving state to take custody of an offender who has violated
conditions without extradition proceedings
Supervision Outside the State cont’d
Interstate Compact for Adult Offender Supervision: developed by the NIC in 2000 to address
problems with interstate compacts
• National interstate commission creates & enforces same rules for all states, collects statistics,
coordinates education & training, notifies victims
• Each state has a council & compact administrator who manages all compacts for their state
• Approximately, 250,000 offenders nationwide are supervised under interstate compacts
Interstate Commission for Adult Offender Supervision
In 1999, Stephanie Tuthill was a 24-year old graduate student, attending college in Colorado
when she was raped & murdered by Dante Paige. Paige had served 22 months of a 20-year
sentence for assault & armed robbery in Maryland when he was transferred to a halfway house
program in Colorado. He had no family or contacts in Colorado. Colorado authorities were not
notified of his transfer. Paige never showed up for his program.
Interstate Commission for Adult Offender Supervision
Stephanie’s mother, Patricia Tuthill, became an advocate & activist of the Interstate Compact
legislation.
Texas Board of Pardon & Parole
Parole Guidelines
 COMPONENTS OF THE GUIDELINES:
The revised parole guidelines consist of two major components that interact to provide a single
score. The first is a Risk Assessment Instrument that weighs both static and dynamic factors
associated with the offender’s record. The other component is Offense Severity class.
 Risk Assessment Instrument
Static factors are those associated with the offender’s prior criminal record. They will not change
over time. Dynamic factors reflect characteristics the offender has demonstrated since being
incarcerated and are factors that can change over time.
Texas Parole Guidelines cont’d
 Static factors include:
• Age at first admission to a juvenile or adult correctional facility
• History of supervisory release revocations for felony offenses
• Prior incarcerations
• Employment history
• The commitment offense
 Dynamic factors include:
• Offender’s current age
• Whether the offender is a confirmed security threat group (gang) member
• Education, vocational and certified on-the-job training programs completed during
the present incarceration
• Prison disciplinary conduct
• Current prison custody level
Texas Parole Guidelines cont’d
 An offender can be assigned 0-9 points on static factors and 0-12 points on dynamic
factors. A low score is associated with low risk. The higher the score, the greater the risk
the offender presents for a successful parole:
Texas Parole Guidelines cont’d
End of Chapter 5