1. Classification & Supervision
Chapter 5
Classification & Supervision

2. Introduction
Supervision is the officer’s oversight of clients committed to his or her custody
Officers rely on evidence-based practices (EBP) for supervision:
classification assessments
case planning
motivational interviewing
cognitive-behavioral treatments
principles of correctional intervention

3. Classification: The First Step in Supervision
Classification: the supervising officer using an objective assessment scale to compute the risks posed by the offender, identifying offender needs requiring intervention, & selecting appropriate supervision and treatment strategies.
Highest priority is on identifying risks that would jeopardize public safety
Objective, actuarial prediction models: more reliable & efficient than subjective methods

4. Risk Assessment
Risk assessment: measures the probationer or parolee’s degree of dangerousness to the public & their propensity to engage in future criminal activity
Early assessments relied on interviewing the offender & using case-by-case, anecdotal information
Modern assessments use static factors involving previous behavior, which has already happened & cannot be altered
They also use dynamic factors which measure both negative & positive change over time
Dynamic factors include: family relations, friends, emotional health, housing, leisure, & financial situation

5. Level of Service Inventory-Revised (LSI-R)
LSI-R: uses a 54 item scale that assigns numerical values to many factors identified in the PSI
It has been validated for use with male & female offenders & some juveniles
A meta-analysis of 47 studies of the LSI-R shows it accurately targets high-risk clients, but more accurately predicts adult men and is less accurate at predicting recidivism for women offenders (Vose, Cullen, & Smith, 2008).

6. Identifying Treatment Needs
The officer identifies offender’s characteristics, conditions, or behaviors that limit motivation & may lead to criminal behavior
Treatment activities are actions taken by the supervising officer intended to bring about rehabilitation & reintegration into the law-abiding community
Both risk & needs assessments should identify types of services offender receives

7. Identifying Treatment Needs, Cont’d.
Treatment needs include:
drug or alcohol abuse, mental illness, anger management or education or vocational deficiencies
Sources of information used to identify treatment needs:
the PSI, prison disciplinary records & prerelease plan, physical or medical health evaluations, records of drug or alcohol abuse & other related criminal conduct, financial history, & residential history

8. The Supervision Case Plan
Case Plan: an individualized, written plan that clarifies how each court-ordered condition is to be fulfilled by the offender & the officer based on identified risks & needs
Negotiated & signed by both parties
Is reviewed periodically & can be modified
Supervision issue: identified problem, characteristic, or pattern of conduct that requires intervention

9. Implementing the Case Plan
Surveillance: ascertaining that offenders are meeting the conditions of supervision imposed by the court or parole board
Most common form of surveillance: maintaining contact through face-to-face meetings with client in the office setting
Other common types of contact: by phone & mail
Most valuable contact: in the field, visiting offender’s home or place of employment
Collateral contacts: with employers, teachers, relatives

10. Levels of Supervision
Differentiate offenders who need close supervision from those who need less
Many classification systems use the categories of maximum, medium, & minimum
Other systems use max, high, standard, & administrative
The categories specify the minimum amount of contact requirements
Factors of contacts include:
Type of contact
Location of contact
Frequency of contact

11. Differences for Each Supervision Level

12. Caseload & Workload Standards
Caseload: the number of individuals or cases one officer can effectively supervise. The more intensive the supervision, the lower the caseload
Workload standard: assumes number of hours needed to supervise each client based on their level of supervision & then calculates the maximum number of clients an officer can supervise effectively
The workload standard allows for comparison, research, & interpreting work to legislators & others

13. Principles of Effective Correctional Intervention
Paul Gendreau (1996) published the principles of effective intervention, considered the basis by which correctional treatment programs should operate:
8 principles explain what all treatment services should include:
1. Be intensive, occupying 40 to 70% of each day for 3 to 9 months
2. Contain cognitive-behavioral components to prepare the mind for behavioral change

14. Principles of Effective Correctional Intervention, Con’t.
3. Match the program level with client abilities or what the client can relate to according to gender, age, cultural background & risk level. Higher risk level clients will make greater strides. 4. Have positive reinforcements that should exceed punishments by a ratio of 4:1 5. Have minimum education & experience requirements for staff

15. Principles of Effective Correctional Intervention, Con’t.
6. Teach clients to replace criminal networks with prosocial ones 7. Provide relapse prevention and aftercare 8. Evaluate the program & assess the compliance of programs to the previous 7 principles by using the Correctional Program Assessment Inventory (CPAI)

16. Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
CBT: an effective method of helping a person change. A blend of 2 different types of therapies: cognitive therapy that prepares the mind & behavioral change that conditions the body
CBT is used to overcome phobias, quit habitual behaviors such as smoking, drinking, or drug use, & to change old thinking patterns such as those linked to criminality

17. Motivational Interviewing
Considers community supervision as a two-way relationship between the officer & offender, affected by the offender’s motivation to change, and with how the officer responds to & encourages change
An honest, direct relationship, with good communication skills, is an effective means of promoting change & ensuring successful completion of the term of probation

18. Employment Assistance
Employment is likely the single most important element in preventing recidivism for probationers & parolees (Petersilia 2003)
Offenders are often the last to be hired & first to be terminated
Some offenders are barred from employment in certain fields because of regulatory & licensing laws that preclude people with criminal convictions

19. Working with Women Offenders
Most supervision techniques & treatment programs were developed to serve characteristics of men
Women on community supervision have typically entered the system because of a crime they committed with a male partner (boyfriend, husband, or brother) or they acted alone out of financial need

20. Working with Women Offenders, cont’d
Typical female offender has not completed high school & lacks employment skills
3 out of 4 women have dependent children
Many live below poverty line
Many have been physically or sexually abused or neglected as children
Often abuse continues into adulthood
Generally pose less risk than men to the community
Willing to share feelings & thoughts while on supervision

21. Evaluation of Neighborhood-Based vs. Traditional Probation
Neighborhood-based supervision (NBS): the probation officers conduct supervision & implement the case plan by being more visible, having a strong community presence
Cases are assigned to officers according to geographic beat areas in a community
Officers develop partnerships with police, treatment providers, & faith-based initiatives

22. Supervision Outside the State
Interstate Compact: agreement among the states by which they can supervise probationers & parolees for each other
Identifies sending state (state of conviction) & receiving state (where offender will be supervised)
Receiving state reports to sending state, but sending state retains authority to modify conditions, revoke, or terminate supervision & can determine on what basis an offender may be returned
Usually offender must be resident of receiving state, have relatives there, or employment
Sending state may enter receiving state to take custody of an offender who has violated conditions without extradition proceedings

23. Supervision Outside the State, cont’d
Interstate Compact for Adult Offender Supervision: developed by the NIC in 2000 to address problems with interstate compacts
National interstate commission creates & enforces same rules for all states, collects statistics, coordinates education & training, notifies victims
Each state has a council & compact administrator who manages all compacts for their state
Approximately, 250,000 offenders nationwide are supervised under interstate compacts

24. Interstate Commission for Adult Offender Supervision
In 1999, Stephanie Tuthill was a 24-year old graduate student, attending college in Colorado when she was raped & murdered by Dante Paige. Paige had served 22 months of a 20-year sentence for assault & armed robbery in Maryland when he was transferred to a halfway house program in Colorado. He had no family or contacts in Colorado. Colorado authorities were not notified of his transfer. Paige never showed up for his program.
Stephanie’s mother, Patricia Tuthill, became an advocate & activist of the Interstate Compact legislation.

25. Texas Board of Pardon & Parole Parole Guidelines
COMPONENTS OF THE GUIDELINES:
The revised parole guidelines consist of two major components that interact to provide a single score. The first is a Risk Assessment Instrument that weighs both static and dynamic factors associated with the offender’s record. The other component is Offense Severity class.
Risk Assessment Instrument
Static factors are those associated with the offender’s prior criminal record. They will not change over time. Dynamic factors reflect characteristics the offender has demonstrated since being incarcerated and are factors that can change over time.

26. Texas Parole Guidelines, cont’d
Static factors include:
Age at first admission to a juvenile or adult correctional facility
History of supervisory release revocations for felony offenses
Prior incarcerations
Employment history
The commitment offense
Dynamic factors include:
Offender’s current age
Whether the offender is a confirmed security threat group (gang) member
Education, vocational and certified on-the-job training programs completed during the present incarceration
Prison disciplinary conduct
Current prison custody level

27. Texas Parole Guidelines, cont’d
An offender can be assigned 0-9 points on static factors and 0-12 points on dynamic factors. A low score is associated with low risk. The higher the score, the greater the risk the offender presents for a successful parole:

28. Texas Parole Guidelines, cont’d
Score Assigned Risk Level Based on the total of static and dynamic factor points, the risk level to be assigned to the offender should be determined below:
Points
Low Risk
0-5
Moderate Risk
6-8
High Risk
9-11
Highest Risk
12+