NCJ Number
238126
Date Published
December 2011
Length
10 pages
Annotation
This is an interim report to the Washington State Department of Corrections (DOC) by an independent contractor regarding the findings to date on a study of effective practices for the community supervision of offenders.
Abstract
The report presents background information on community supervision of offenders as it is delivered in Washington State, and findings to date are summarized from a review of the literature on "what works" for community supervision. The findings indicate that intensive supervision with priority given to surveillance of the offenders does not achieve any reduction in recidivism; intensive supervision that includes treatment services achieves approximately a 10-percent reduction in recidivism; and supervision that adheres to the "Risk-Need-Responsivity" (RNR) model achieved a 16-percent reduction in recidivism. The RNR approach uses intervention tailored to an accurate assessment of an offender's risk of reoffending. Based on the identification of an offender's criminogenic needs, such as antisocial attitudes or substance abuse, responsive interventions focus on the offender's abilities and motivation (generally cognitive-behavioral or social-learning interventions). An appendix lists the studies used in the meta-analysis under the following topics: supervision with the Risk-Need-Responsivity model, intensive supervision with treatment, and intensive supervision that emphasizes surveillance. The study's final report will be issued by July 2012.