Parole Supervision Research Articles

Refining the Measurement of Social Dynamics and Centering Social Capital Research in Corrections

Research on social dynamics and social networks has long informed how researchers and practitioners make sense of positive and negative influences on individuals’ behaviors. Research on supportive network members and the role dynamics shared with parents, peers, and romantic partners have been central to empirical and theoretical contributions. Notably, the operationalization of social relationships has not changed much over the years. Scholars have primarily relied upon measures embedded in risk assessment tools or interview data about supportive ties. However, these approaches are not designed to assess individuals’ social capital, clarify mobilization strategies for support, or inform whether compositional and structural network characteristics (and changes) affect correctional experiences. This essay highlights the contributions of extant research on social relationships during probation and parole supervision and identifies ways that advancements in personal (egocentric) social network methods could aid in crafting research, policies, and practices that center equity and inform community-based solutions.

From the Rust Belt to the Sun Belt: The Predictive Accuracy of the Arizona Youth Assessment System (AZYAS-Reentry) for Juveniles on Parole Supervision

This study had two objectives: (1) to evaluate the predictive accuracy of the AZYAS-Reentry tool and (2) to test whether predictive accuracy levels were consistent across sex and race/ethnicity. Data from 249 Arizona adolescents released from secure care on parole supervision between June 2020 and July 2023 were examined. The mean AZYAS-Reentry score classifies much of the sample as moderate risk. Bivariate analyses show a medium effect size for AZYAS-Reentry on parole revocation for the full sample ( r = .344). Predictive accuracy is the highest for African American youth ( r = .534), followed by Hispanic ( r = .398) and white youth ( r = .191). Higher predictive accuracy for African Americans is driven by specific domains (e.g., values, beliefs, and attitudes). The one sex-based difference is the stronger effect of juvenile justice history for females. Findings support using AZYAS-Reentry and highlight the utility of targeting domains to plan interventions across sex and race/ethnicity.

“I feel like I'm always on edge”: Perceptions of parole supervision by parolees with substance use disorders

“I feel like I'm always on edge”: Perceptions of parole supervision by parolees with substance use disorders

“It’s a Double-Edged Sword”: Proximal Affinity in Relationships Between Rural Parole Officers and Parolees

Rural parole officers and people under their parole supervision indisputably face major challenges as they jointly navigate reentry. Such challenges include obtaining employment, accessing substance use and mental health treatment services, and navigating felony-related stigma. Utilizing 120 interviews conducted with parole officers and people on parole in Wyoming, we argue that proximal affinity – the degree to which individuals relate to and empathize with others based on their perceptions of one another as potential or actual neighbors in community – directly impacts the parole supervision relationship and, when exercised positively, may even help to explain why, despite rural areas’ extremely limited or even nonexistent numbers of reentry services, rural people on parole recidivate less often their peers in more populous areas.

Narcotic Use under Probation and Parole Supervision - A longitudinal Study of Risk-group-specific Recidivism under Abstinence Conditions

The aim of this long-term study was to record substance-specific prevalences of illegal use of narcotics despite court-imposed abstinence requirements. Urine assays were obtained by a public health department on the basis of administrative assistance for the probation department of a district court. The individual and valid allocation of these urine samples was ensured using a proven marker system. After postal dispatch, laboratory chemical analyses for narcotics residues were carried out in an external laboratory via enzyme immunoassay and validation by mass spectrography in the case of positive narcotics results. On the basis of all available routine data, a pooled data set covering a total of fourteen consecutive calendar years (2006-2019) was generated digitally and evaluated anonymously. From a total of 380 subjects (female: 13% versus male: 87%; average age: 30.4 years), 13,500 individual narcotic substance analyses from 2,941 urine samples were available. In 2.7% of all individual analyses, at least one of eight potential narcotic substances was detected, whereby the highest overall prevalences in the sense of a relapse were found for cannabis with 3.7% and for opiates with 2.4%. In contrast, there were almost no residues for barbiturates and LSD and no positive evidence for buprenorphine and PCP. As expected, most relapses in all narcotics groups were found in the age groups from 18 to 35 years. Strikingly, more women than men violated the court abstinence order with amphetamines, while relapses with the other seven narcotics groups occurred predominantly among men. In the course of the entire observation period, the most marked fluctuations in relapse rates were found for cannabis, opiates and cocaine. The use of narcotic substances during probation and parole supervision does not appear to be a rare occurrence and has received little professional attention. Increased attention to this group-specific recidivism and more studies on this topic should help reduce this deficit.

미국의 성인 및 소년 대상 전자감독제도 - 준수사항 위반과 제재조치 중심으로 -

In 2008, South Korea introduced an electronic monitoring system to prevent sex offenders from reoffending, and since then, it has gradually expanded its use to include offenders on post-release and parole supervision. As a result, the number of people under electronic monitoring supervision in South Korea has significantly increased, including those on pre-trial release. This study aims to provide an overview of electronic monitoring supervision in the United States, which has a longer history of using electronic supervision for both adult and juvenile offenders than South Korea. In the United States, electronic supervision is used as a means of reducing recidivism and closely monitoring the behavior of juvenile offenders. South Korea, on the other hand, does not currently use electronic monitoring for juveniles, despite facing issues such as correctional overcrowding and staff shortages in community corrections. Given the potential effectiveness of electronic supervision in addressing these issues, introducing electronic monitoring for juveniles in South Korea could be a valuable option to consider. However, it is important to carefully plan and individualize supervision conditions in order to effectively meet the needs and circumstances of each juvenile before implementing this approach. It is also essential to increase public awareness of the importance of these measures for the rehabilitation and successful reintegration of juveniles into society.

Racialized Employment Outcomes During Reentry: A Test of Competing Explanations

Although much literature has examined the racial gap in employment, relatively fewer efforts have been devoted to examining racialized employment outcomes in the context of reentry. The factors associated with the racial gap in post-release employment are largely unknown. Even less is known whether a disadvantage factor exerts disparate effects on minority and White returning citizens. Using longitudinal data documenting returning citizens’ social capital, health, neighborhood conditions, parole supervision, and employment outcomes over 15 months after release, this study extends prior studies by testing three competing explanations of the racial gap in post-release employment. Findings suggest that structural disadvantages and criminal history cannot fully explain the lower employment rates of Black returning citizens. Furthermore, this study did not find a significant race-specific effect of social capital on employment outcomes. Implications for reentry programing and interventions are discussed.

The metropolitan context of substance use and substance use disorders among US adults on probation or parole supervision

Background: Rates of substance use and substance use disorders are higher among adults on probation or parole supervision compared to the general population. Substance use is a risk factor of not adhering to supervision requirements, which may result in revocation and incarceration. Examining associations of metropolitan area status with substance use and substance use disorders may identify specific substance use behaviors that can be targeted in community corrections prevention and treatment services. The present study examined associations of metropolitan area residency with substance use and substance use disorders among adults on probation or parole supervision. Methods: Data came from the 2015 to 2018 National Survey on Drug Use and Health ([NSDUH]; N = 4266 adults on parole or probation). Multivariable logistic regression was run for substance-specific models for each of the two outcomes of past-year use and substance use disorder. Results: Nonmetropolitan residency was associated with higher odds of methamphetamine use and lower odds of cocaine use. Nonmetropolitan residency was associated with higher odds of methamphetamine use disorder and lower odds of opioid use disorder and cocaine use disorder. Conclusions: Study findings highlight the differences of substance use and substance use disorders between levels of metropolitan areas for those on probation or parole. Findings suggest that cocaine use should be emphasized in clinical services in large metropolitan areas, whereas methamphetamine use may be prioritized in nonmetropolitan areas. Further study is needed to investigate the interface of substance use behaviors and community corrections outcomes across metropolitan and nonmetropolitan areas.

Reducing Missed Appointments for Probation and Parole Supervision: a Randomized Experiment with Text Message Reminders

Research QuestionCan text message reminders reduce missed appointments with probation or parole officers by clients under community supervision?DataIn collaboration with Arkansas Community Corrections (ACC), 4,000 clients under community supervision were selected and tracked for attendance at scheduled supervision meetings from October 1, 2018, through April 15, 2019, with a test sample of 3,470 clients scheduled to attend 14,135 appointments assigned at random to different conditions of appointment reminders.MethodsMarquis Software, under contract to ACC, randomly assigned the test sample to one of four conditions of text messages generated by company software: control (no text messages before appointments), early text (2 days before the appointment), late text (1 day before the appointment), and two texts (both 1 day and 4 days before the appointment). Marquis then abstracted the records of appointment attendance by treatment group, for analysis by the academic co-authors.FindingsDuring the 6-month experiment, the best attendance was found in the treatment group assigned to late text reminders 1 day before the appointment. That group had 29% fewer no-shows and 21% fewer cancelled appointments than the control group during the experiment. In a subsequent rollout of the late text treatment to all of the clients still under supervision, the entire remaining group had 30% fewer missed appointments compared to the control group during the experiment.ConclusionsText messages reminding clients to attend parole and probation officer meetings can reduce missed appointments, with potentially substantial reductions in imprisonment due to technical violations of community supervision conditions.

Parole Officer Decision-Making Before Parole Revocation: Why Context Is Key When Delivering Correctional Services

Back-end sentencing is the discretionary, administrative process through which individuals on parole are returned to prison for violating the requirements of their supervised release. Parole officers play a crucial role in this process as they are the witnesses to the rule-breaking behaviors of people on parole supervision and ultimately must initiate the back-end sentencing process. This study explores predictors of parole officer decision-making when determining whether to consider a person for revocation or to gear programmatic community-based resources toward them in an attempt to decrease the likelihood of their eventual revocation. Our results indicate that if people released to parole are front-loaded programmatic resources as a part of their release conditions from prison, the odds that parole officers subsequently gear community-based programs toward them decreases by approximately 60%. Other factors such as demographics, actuarial risk levels, and criminal history were not significantly predictive of officer decision-making in this context.

Time for a Change: Examining the Relationships between Recidivism-Free Time, Recidivism Risk, and Risk Assessment

As efforts to reverse mass incarceration increase, so does the need to supervise more individuals in the community. Faced with heightened demand, community corrections agencies increasingly use risk assessment to allocate resources efficiently and improve public safety. While both static, historical factors as well as dynamic, changeable factors have been incorporated into risk assessment instruments, one factor notably absent is the amount of time an individual remains in the community recidivism-free. Using parametric and discrete hazard models, we examine the relationship between recidivism-free time and observed recidivism among individuals on parole supervision in Pennsylvania where dynamic risk assessment is used. Specifically, we assess whether recidivism-free time predicts recidivism independent of these risk scores and the extent to which single and repeated risk scores accurately predict recidivism. Findings support the use of dynamic risk instruments but suggest that recidivism prediction may benefit from considering recidivism-free time. Implications for community corrections policy are discussed.

What the COVID-19 Pandemic Teaches About the essential Practices of Community Corrections and Supervision

The COVID-19 pandemic occurred in the midst of a reform movement in probation and parole supervision in the United States. Because social distancing orders created significant disruptions in probation and parole, the pandemic provides an opportunity to explore the innovative ways that probation and parole officers adjusted their supervision strategies with clients. We surveyed probation and parole officers in the United States ( N = 1,054; 65% female, 66% probation) in May–June 2020 about the supervision strategies they used with people on their caseloads before and immediately after the pandemic’s onset. Data indicate that overall rates of contact did not change, but that in-person contacts were replaced with remote communication strategies. Client access to electronic communication platforms, especially video conferencing, facilitated more frequent contact and more reliance on behavioral tactics and treatment-oriented case management approaches in the post-COVID period. Results reveal the potential role for video conferencing as an integral element of probation and parole reform.

Compounded Social Vulnerability: Parole Supervision and Disasters

ABSTRACT We use an exploratory case study method and documentary analysis to review parole policies in Texas, Louisiana, and Florida. We find that parole policies in each state fail to address how parolees should respond during disasters and the implications for compliance failure. Conditions of parole, and parole policies and procedures (or lack thereof) can make it extremely difficult for individuals on parole to successfully and simultaneously navigate disasters. Without proper guidance from the agencies responsible for parole in each state, individuals may be caught further in the web of correctional control. Our findings lead us to make several recommendations for justice agencies, as well as state and local governments.

The Waiving of Parole Consideration by Inmates With Mental Illness and Recidivism Outcomes

For many adults leaving prison, parole supervision can provide the support necessary for successful adjustment to community life. Those leaving prison who have a mental illness (MI) may benefit particularly from such services. However, many people who are incarcerated waive their opportunity for parole and choose instead to “max out” their sentences. This study explores whether decision-making and community risk predictors differ between people who are incarcerated with ( n = 1,575) and without ( n = 20,220) MI and who choose to voluntarily max out their sentence (i.e., waive parole), who max out involuntarily through denial of parole, and who are released to parole supervision. We found the presence of an MI was associated with the decision to forgo parole, but not recidivism. Those who maxed out their sentence (regardless of voluntariness of decision) had increased likelihood of recidivating. Implications for parole policy, practice, and research are discussed.

From the Streets to Prison and Back: An Examination of Continuity of Behaviors among Offenders

ABSTRACT Behavioral continuity has been supported by the offending, prison misconduct, and recidivism literature; however, the linear path from offending in the community, to prison, and in the community again has not been fully tested. Data on individuals under parole supervision in the City of Philadelphia were used to test offending continuity across periods of incarceration and within the community. Using binary regression, we tested whether type of controlling offense (i.e. the offense resulting in the current term of incarceration) predicted the odds of engaging in different types of prison/institutional misconduct. Additionally, we examined if individuals with specific types of institutional misconduct had higher odds of reincarceration. Furthermore, path analysis modeling was used to test for mediation across this relationship. Analyses revealed that those with controlling property offenses had lower odds of misconduct, whereas those with violent offenses had higher odds of engaging in violent misconduct. Second, likelihood of reincarceration varied by controlling offense type. When compared to other offenses, those with property offenses had higher odds of reincarceration, whereas those with violent offenses had lower odds of reincarceration. Third, of those with violent controlling offenses, those who had a record of violent institutional misconduct had lower odds of recidivism. These findings partially support continuity of offending; however, highlight the potential for incarceration to interrupt habitual offending behaviors.

Evidence‐Based Skills in Criminal Justice: International Research on Supporting Rehabilitation and DesistanceP. Ugwudike, P. Raynor and J. Annison (Eds.). Bristol: Policy Press (2018) 224pp. £64.00hb, £21.59pb ISBN 978‐1‐4473‐3296‐1; 978–1447333012

Evidence‐Based Skills in Criminal Justice: International Research on Supporting Rehabilitation and DesistanceP. Ugwudike, P. Raynor and J. Annison (Eds.). Bristol: Policy Press (2018) 224pp. £64.00hb, £21.59pb ISBN 978‐1‐4473‐3296‐1; 978–1447333012

Predictors of shared decision making with people who have a serious mental illness and who are under justice supervision in the community

Predictors of shared decision making with people who have a serious mental illness and who are under justice supervision in the community

The Vital Role of a Full Continuum of Psychiatric Care Beyond Beds.

The authors make the case for expanding the national discussion of inpatient psychiatric beds to recognize and incorporate other vital components of the continuum of care in order to improve outcomes for individuals with serious mental illness. They review the varied terminology applied to psychiatric beds and describe how the location of these beds has changed from primarily state hospitals to the criminal justice system, emergency departments, inpatient units, and the community. The authors propose 10 recommendations related to beds or to contextual issues regarding them. The recommendations address issues of mental illness terminology, criminal and juvenile justice diversion, the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act, mental health technology, and the mental health workforce, among others. Each recommendation is based on findings from publicly available data and clinical observation and is intended to reduce the human and economic costs associated with severe mental illness by promoting a robust, interconnected, and evidence-based system of care that goes beyond beds.

Parole Release and Supervision: Critical Drivers of American Prison Policy

Decisions tied to parole release, supervision, and revocation are major determinants of the ebb and flow of prison populations across two-thirds of US states. We argue that parole release, as an institution, has been an underacknowledged force in American incarceration and reincarceration policy and an important contributor to the nation's buildup to mass incarceration. In paroling states, no court or state agency holds greater power than parole boards over time actually served by the majority of offenders sent to prison. We examine the leverage exercised by parole boards through their discretionary release decisions and their powers to sanction violators of parole conditions. We note the state-by-state diversity and complexity associated with parole-release decisions and the absence of successful state systems that might serve as a model for other jurisdictions. We highlight the procedural shortfalls universally associated with parole decision-making. We discuss the long reach of parole supervision and the pains it imposes on those subject to its jurisdiction, including the substantial financial burdens levied on parolees. We then turn to the prospects for parole reform and outline a comprehensive blueprint for improving parole release in America.

Fidelity Measures for Risk-Need Assessment (RNA) Tools Usage in Case Plans

ABSTRACT Risk-need assessment (RNA) tools are considered the gold standard of probation and parole supervision. The value of having an RNA tool is that the information can be used in case plans and supervising individuals. Practitioners and researchers frequently observe that officers fail to use RNA results in case plans. This study fills in this research gap by providing four fidelity measures to assess how well probation officers incorporated RNA tool results in case plans. The four measures are: 1) whether a person has a criminogenic or responsivity need in a particular area; 2) the consistency between the LSI-R subscale criminogenic/responsivity need area(s) and special condition(s), 3) whether the officer incorporated the LSI-R need areas into a case plan (yes/no), and, 4) the degree to which the special conditions are reflected in the case plan. A review of 116 RNA tools (using one specific instrument) and case plans was conducted to illustrate the feasibility of these fidelity measures. The study found discrepancies between the RNA tool results and case plans, and a tendency to emphasize special conditions over criminogenic needs. The use of the fidelity measures can assist agencies in identifying areas to improve operations and greater adherence to the quality supervision measures. Implications for future practice are covered in the discussion of this study.