Abstract
How do parole officers manage technical violations in an organizational environment where technical violations are not supported by management? Using ethnographic data collected during three years (1300 hours) of fieldwork with California parole officers (POs) from 2003 to 2006, this paper considers how POs manage technical violators after the initiation of a rehabilitation-focused reform that encouraged POs to avoid violating parolees for technical/administrative violations except in the most egregious or troublesome cases. Data analysis suggests that POs often viewed this reform negatively and responded with various resistance strategies to continue violating parolees. Resistance tactics included: (1) partnering with police; (2) piling charges, and (3) using paperwork enhancement strategies. Officers felt these strategies better met community safety goals by assuring lengthy revocation sentences or increasing the likelihood of new crime prosecution. These findings have implications for the effectiveness of reform implementation and the success of prisoner reentry initiatives.
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