NCJ Number
219202
Journal
Corrections Today Magazine Volume: 69 Issue: 2 Dated: April 2007 Pages: 98-101,105
Date Published
April 2007
Length
5 pages
Annotation
This article describes the Proactive Community Supervision (PCS) project in Maryland and offers results from a comparative analysis of participant outcomes.
Abstract
The PSC model reframes the role of supervision services from simply supervision functions to more of a case management approach that focuses on the nature and intent of the contacts between the offenders and their probation/parole officers. The PCS supervision agent attempts to affect change in three ways: (1) engage the offender in the change process by focusing on pro-social skills; (2) begin the change process by addressing criminogenic traits; and (3) assist the offender in sustaining change through positive community and family involvement. Results of a study that compared the outcomes of PCS program participants with those of traditional supervision participants (control participants) concluded that for the first outcome measured, drug testing, there were no significant differences between PCS participants and control participants in terms of failure to appear for testing or positive urinalysis findings. The second outcome under examination, new arrests, indicated that PCS participants were significantly less likely to be rearrested than the control participants. The third outcome examined, requests for warrants, revealed that participants in the PCS model experienced a 38 percent reduction in the probability of a warrant being filed for technical violations. The findings suggest that the PCS model is effective at lowering recidivism rates and encouraging pro-social behaviors among offenders under community supervision. The study was carried out in Maryland where the outcomes of 274 randomly selected PCS participants were compared to the outcomes of 274 matched offenders who were receiving traditional supervision services. Main outcomes under examination were drug testing, rearrest, and request for warrants. Bivariate and logistic regression models were used to examine differences between the two groups of offenders. Figure, tables, endnotes