EVALUATIVE RESEARCH OF A COMMUNITY-BASED PROBATION PROGRAM

• NCJ Number: 45730
• Author(s): R H MOORE; D LEVINE
• Date Published: 1974
• Length: 48 pages
• Grant Number(s): NI-71-055
• Sponsoring Agency: US Dept of Justice; US Dept of Justice NIJ Pub
• Corporate Author: University of Nebraska, Lincoln; Lincoln-Lancaster Municipal Court
• Sale Source: National Technical Information Service; National Institute of Justice/
• Publication Type: Program/Project Evaluation
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

AN EVALUATION OF A NEBRASKA PROGRAM USING VOLUNTEER CITIZENS TO SUPPORT, COUNSEL, AND GUIDE YOUTHFUL, MISDEMEANANT, HIGH-RISK PROBATIONERS IS PRESENTED.

Abstract

SUBJECTS OF THE STUDY WERE 104 MALE OFFENDERS PLACED ON PROBATION BY THE LINCOLN-LANCASTER MUNICIPAL COURT FOR 1 YEAR. HIGH-RISK OFFENDERS WERE ASSIGNED RANDOMLY TO EITHER THE VOLUNTEER PROBATION COUNSELOR PROGRAM (HR-VPC) OR ROUTINE PROBATION (HR-PB). A RANDOM SAMPLE OF 20 LOW-RISK OFFENDERS WAS ALSO ASSIGNED TO ROUTINE PROBATION PROGRAMMING (LR-RP GROUP). FORTY PROBATIONERS WERE ASSIGNED TO THE HR-VPC GROUP, AND 44 PROBATIONERS WERE ASSIGNED TO THE HR-RP GROUP. IN THE HR-VPC GROUP, VOLUNTEER COUNSELORS WERE MATCHED WITH PROBATIONERS ACCORDING TO AGE, OCCUPATION, SOCIOECONOMIC STATUS, AND INTERESTS OF THE VOLUNTEER. THROUGH REGULAR CONTACT, THE VOLUNTEERS PROVIDED SUPPORTIVE FRIENDSHIP, COUNSELING IN THE CONTEXT OF PROBLEMS AND STRESSFUL SITUATIONS, AND A GENERALLY MOTIVATIONAL RELATIONSHIP. AT THE END OF THE PROBATIONARY YEAR, BEHAVIOR WAS MEASURED BY FOUR STANDARDS: CRIMINAL OFFENSES COMMITTED DURING THE PROBATIONARY PERIOD; RECIDIVISM RATES; SERIOUSNESS OF OFFENSES COMMITTED DURING THE PROBATIONARY PERIOD; AND THE PATTERN OF CRIMINAL OFFENSES. HR-VPC SUBJECTS COMMITTED 45.45 PERCENT FEWER OFFENSES THAN HR-RP SUBJECTS, HAD A SIGNIFICANTLY LOWER RECIDIVISM RATE, COMMITTED SIGNIFICANTLY FEWER THEFTS AND ANTISOCIAL OFFENSES, AND SHOWED GREATER CHANGE IN THE PATTERN OF CRIMINAL OFFENSES COMMITTED DURING PROBATION AS COMPARED TO OFFENSES COMMITTED 1 YEAR PRIOR TO PROBATION. PSYCHOSOCIAL TESTING SHOWED THAT HR-VPC SUBJECTS WERE BETTER ABLE TO COPE EFFECTIVELY WITH SOCIETAL EXPECTATIONS AND LESS LIKELY TO ENGAGE IN DEVIANT BEHAVIOR THAN WERE HR-RP SUBJECTS. THERE IS STRONG EVIDENCE, THEREFORE, THAT THE VOLUNTEER PROBATION COUNSELOR PROGRAM IS MORE EFFECTIVE IN REDUCING CRIME AND ACCOMPLISHING REHABILITATION THAN ROUTINE PROBATION PROGRAMMING. THE REPORT ALSO INCLUDES TEST RESULTS SHOWING THE MOST EFFECTIVE VOLUNTEER COUNSELORS TO BE ENTERPRISING, VERBALLY FLUENT AND PERSUASIVE, SELF-CONFIDENT, DEPENDABLE, TOLERANT OF OTHERS, INDEPENDENT IN THOUGHT, SENSITIVE TO THE NEEDS AND WISHES OF OTHERS, AND FLEXIBLE IN THOUGHT. TABLES OF ALL TEST RESULTS ARE INCLUDED. (RCB)