46 FEDERAL PROBATION Volume 64 Number 1 Selecting the Substance Specialist

Sam Torres, California State University Robert M. Latta, Chief U.S. Probation Officer, Los Angeles

IN RECENT YEARS, THE supervision of alcohol or drugs. centage are likely to have been committed of offenders in the community, either on pro- In a recent study conducted in Canada, while under the influence of drugs and/or al- bation, parole, or supervised release, has be- Zamble and Quinsey (1997, pp.54-56) found cohol, possibly approaching the 80 percent come tantamount to the care and control of that fully 89 percent of a group of parole re- figure cited by the CASA study. the drug and alcohol abusing offender. In a cidivists used alcohol or drugs 24 hours be- While one can interpret these statistics in major study, the National Center on Addic- fore the offense violation that resulted in a a number of ways, two things are clear. Sub- tion and Substance Abuse (CASA) at Colum- return to prison. Zamble and Quinsey report stance abuse among criminal offenders in this bia University (1998) concluded that drug that along with other events in the period, country is a major problem and historically, and alcohol addiction are related to the of- there appears to have been an increase in al- treatment programs have not had high suc- fenses committed by 80 percent of inmates ready high levels of alcohol and drug usage in cess rates. As the social movement against in jail and prison in the United States. At the the day immediately preceding the violation. heroin grew in the 1950s and 1960s, support time this report was released in 1998, there The study concluded that for the majority of for treatment of addiction also grew, and spe- were approximately 1.7 million men and offenders, substance abuse is so entangled cial facilities were developed to house addicts women in jail or prison, and of this number, with other maladaptive behavior that they as a special population of incarcerated offend- fully 1.4 million had a history of substance may be inseparable and the use of intoxicants ers. Civil commitment procedures were fre- abuse. Research reflects that drug and alco- is certainly an important part of the anteced- quently utilized to commit the drug abuser hol abuse is highly correlated with criminal ents of re-offending. To a significant degree, to such facilities, where the incarceration term behavior (Deschenes, Turner, and Clear, therefore, substance abuse and crime are in- often exceeded what they would have other- 1992; Speckart and Anglin, 1986; Wish, 1987, tricately related. Developing an effective strat- wise received. Evaluations of these programs, Wish, Brady and Cuadrado, 1986). A national egy to address the substance abuse problem however, showed very poor results (Clear & survey of state prison inmates found that 54 of probationers and parolees is a critical chal- Cole, 2000, p. 121). percent of those serving time for violent of- lenge to community-based corrections. Since the 1980s federal policies have fenses admitted they were under the influence Since parolees are released from prison we sought to combat drug abuse by providing of drugs when they committed the crime. This can conclude from the CASA study that 80 harsher penalties. Punishments for drug pos- survey also found that nearly 25 percent of percent or about 470,000 have substance session and sales were made considerably all prisoners in local jails are there for drug abuse problems. While the research on pro- more severe, especially in the federal courts, crimes (Clear & Cole, 2000, p.119). In a study bationers and substance abuse is less clear, it where sentences of ten years or more became of pretrial detainees in New York during two is known that nearly 60 percent of all proba- common. There has also been a renewed in- months in 1986, Wish (1987) found that 92 tioners have been convicted of a felony. Sev- terest in treatment for drug addiction, and percent of all suspects, arrested, booked, and enteen percent are on probation for driving some of the prison-based programs, especially charged with robbery, and 81 percent charged while intoxicated or under the influence of those based on the therapeutic community with burglary, tested positive for cocaine use. alcohol and another 24 percent have been model, are showing better results than the Atmore and Bauchiero (1987) found that 87 convicted of drug-related offenses. Therefore, earlier civil commitment programs (Clear & percent of inmates participating in a pre-re- approximately 41 percent of the probationer Cole, 2000, p. 122). lease program in Springfield, Massachusetts, population are on supervision for driving had significant substance abuse problems while intoxicated, being under the influence An Effective Supervision prior to the instant offense that led to their of alcohol, or committing a drug-related Strategy incarceration and that a large majority had crime. Of the remaining 59 percent of crimes In a previous article entitled, “An Effective committed crimes while under the influence committed by probationers, a significant per- Supervision Strategy for Substance-Abusing June 2000 THE SUBSTANCE ABUSE SPECIALIST 47

Offenders,” (Torres, 1997) the history and districts in charging offenders with technical Berg, 1971). development of a method utilized by the U.S. violations during the period studied. In con- That substance-abusing offenders exhibit Probation Office in the Central District of trast, most other districts did not appear to sociopathic or psychopathic traits argues California (CDC/Los Angeles) was described. routinely charge offenders with technical vio- strongly in support of the strategy that is pre- In its approach to supervising the substance- lations in response to positive urine tests sented here. Psychopathic traits place them abusing offender, the Los Angeles Federal (Eaglin, 1986, p.54). In summary, the Los at extremely high risk for continuing drug use Probation Office opposes the traditional view Angeles strategy has proven effective in de- and criminal behavior. Some of these traits of addiction, in which drug use is regarded as terring drug use and preventing new crimi- that are highly resistant to change and require a matter of pathology rather than choice. The nal conduct. a highly directive or authoritative approach district follows a policy of total abstinence Selecting drug officer specialists, however, include: superficiality, egocentricity, lack of with predictable consequences for drug use. is an area that has frequently been neglected remorse or guilt, lack of empathy, deceit and Although the individual officer retains the by probation and parole agencies. Because the manipulativeness, impulsivity, shallow emo- discretion to determine the appropriate sanc- drug caseload is extremely demanding and tions, poor behavioral controls, need for ex- tion or course of action, the policy clearly re- replete with violations, major confrontations, citement, irresponsibility, and criminal be- quires that some consequence follow any in- and frequent court or parole board appear- havior (Hare, 1993, pp. 33-70). Offenders cident of drug use; the preferred action is ances, the selection of the specialist is often with these traits do not readily respond to the placement in a therapeutic community. A based on who “wants it,” rather than who non-directive approach of the social worker sophisticated drug detection program is con- might have the most suitable temperament. who seeks to effect change through establish- sidered critical in identifying offenders who However, the drug offender’s personality ing rapport in order to encourage the sub- are using drugs, in order to intervene as early traits and characteristics, along with the stance abuser to see the error of his ways and as possible and to prevent new criminal con- agency’s philosophy, are vital considerations seek help. duct. Surveillance is a major component of in selecting the drug specialist. Cowan et al. (1979) felt that drug abusers the L.A. approach, but the probation officer might suffer from some distinctive pattern of is also expected to focus his attention on other Personality Traits of the pathologic feelings, particularly defeated ones, needs the client may have (Torres, 1997a:41). Substance-Abusing Offender which can lead to or result from chronic drug Two separate government studies sup- An assessment of the personality traits and use. They go on to say that it is not clear ported the effectiveness of the intensive sur- deficiencies of the substance-abusing offender whether feelings of defeat or other elements veillance-treatment total abstinence approach is critical in determining the probation or of a psychopathic state are relatively constant of Los Angeles’ Federal Probation Office. A parole officer style or typology that is most or if they occur in episodes similar to Federal Judicial Center study found that the likely to motivate and contribute to behav- states. This underlying psychopathic state number of positive drug tests differed con- ioral change. This is an area surrounded by may occur in drug abusers even when they siderably across the districts studied ranging significant disagreement and controversy are not using drugs. from a low of 25 percent of caseloads with based largely on the theoretical orientation According to Nathan and Lisman (1976, one or more positive drug tests in the Los that an agency embraces. The supervision pp. 479-577), psychoactive drugs such as al- Angeles office to a high of 69 percent in Dis- strategy described above provides a departure cohol and opiates may be used to relieve per- trict 5. Thus, one may reasonably conclude point for agencies willing to challenge the dis- sistent or episodic feelings of defeat. An in- that a total abstinence policy, coupled with ease model approach to substance abuse. crease in substance abuse tended to occur an aggressive and sophisticated detection pro- The personality deficiencies exhibited by when the person’s self-esteem was threatened. gram leading to certain sanctions and/or substance abusers require a directive and firm Smart (1977, pp. 59-63) has reported that mandatory treatment for drug use, deters approach. Personality traits displayed by ad- opiate addicts had numerous psychological many offenders from using drugs (Torres, dicts tend to immobilize them from seeking problems before their addiction developed. 1997a:43). treatment on their own. Even if they some- They include impulsivity, psychopathic or The study’s conclusions on arrests of of- how muster up the motivation and energy to sociopathic traits, low tolerance for frustra- fenders participating in aftercare were even enter treatment, most will leave if they are not tion, borderline , , more compelling. According to the Federal constrained by the threat of violation (Torres, and alienation. Smart agrees with the authors Judicial Center’s study, 27 percent of the 1997b, p.13). of the prior studies that opiate addiction and sample were arrested at least once during the Martin et al. (1977) postulated that alco- other types of drug use are a mechanism for period of study; the proportions varied con- holics and opiate addicts are characterized by coping with these psychological problems. siderably across districts, however. Two dis- high basic needs, impulsivity, egocentricity, Smith (1980, pp. 50-58) finds that the tricts were well above the average at 44 per- sociopathy, and hypophoria. Various defini- match between the needs of the user and the cent (District 2) and 38 percent (District 5); tions of hypophoria have included elements changes the user attributes to the substance at the opposite extreme, only 15 percent were of lack of confidence, low energy, joylessness, is important in determining whether use will arrested in District 10 (Los Angeles) (Eaglin, and self-perceived unpopularity. Martin hy- continue. The individual who places a high 1984). pothesized that hypophoria was a state that value on feeling strong, alert, decisive, and A follow-up study conducted by the Fed- occurred with increased frequency or inten- masterful is apt to find amphetamine or co- eral Judicial Center 2 years later confirmed sity in drug users. Other studies have sup- caine much more satisfying than does a per- that the Los Angeles’ Central District of Cali- ported the idea that drug abusers also suffer son seeking tranquility or physical relaxation. fornia (CDC) was much stricter than other from low self-esteem (Vanderpool, 1969; The better the match between the perceived 48 FEDERAL PROBATION Volume 64 Number 1

substance effects and the user’s needs, the abuser refuses to participate in treatment or capacitation, and deterrence through punish- more likely use is to continue. He suggests that does not respond, the authoritative officer will ment are major objectives of this school of it is possible for drug use to produce changes take decisive action, up to and including ar- thought. The rational choice model ultimately in personality that are more or less enduring, rest. When drug use violations occur, a con- rests on the belief that people have the ability for example, increased sociability and im- frontation with the offender frequently fol- to control their behavior, whether speeding, proved social skills in a person who is very lows, and few officers are well-suited for this robbing a bank, or using drugs or alcohol. shy. If such changes are highly valued by the type of demanding and stressful and confron- Individual responsibility is a fundamental drug user, the probability of continuing use tational situation. Clearly, while the drug spe- ingredient of this correctional philosophy will be increased substantially. cialist position must be able to use his or her (Torres, 1996, p.18). An agency that supports A wealth of scientific evidence confirms authority effectively and not shy away from an antideterministic, rational choice model that substance abusers display a myriad of confrontation, neither should he or she be will be more inclined to select an officer with personality deficiencies. This brief overview inclined toward excessive and abusive use of the authoritative traits described above. illustrates that traits such as impulsivity, soci- authority. The drug specialist should possess Clearly, there are degrees on the continuum opathy or psychopathy, depression, low energy, authoritative personality traits, yet not exhibit between the left-leaning social worker and the egocentricity, low self-esteem, anxiety, and a low the tyrannical traits of the authoritarian per- right-leaning law-enforcement style, and even tolerance for frustration, in combination, do sonality. the latter must possess the ability to switch to not readily respond to the disease model, so- a helping role when necessary. cial-worker method of dealing with sub- Agency Philosophy and According to Clear and Cole (1997, p.193), stance-abusing criminals. These offenders Probation Officer Styles officers face role conflict in virtually all areas tend to display severe forms of maladaptive The type of probation or parole officer se- of their job. Most of this conflict has its ori- behavior that are not easily modified. Sub- lected for the drug specialist position will gins in these two contradictory responsibili- stance abusers, regardless of the approach largely be determined by the philosophical ties: (1) enforcing the conditions of supervi- used, do not change their drug-using behav- orientation of the agency or department. If sion and (2) assisting the offender. Klockars ior in large numbers (Torres, 1997, p.13). an agency subscribes to a deterministic, medi- (1972, pp. 550-557) expanded the two basic Hence the need for authoritative person- cal model approach to substance abuse, it will roles when he developed a typology of four ality traits in the drug specialist. A probation see the substance abusing behavior and re- probation officer work styles. The “law-en- or parole officer who displays authoritative sulting criminality as caused by heredity, so- forcer” or “probation-is-not casework” style traits would be described as imposing, domi- cialization, mental processes, or the economic would be placed at the extreme right of a con- nant, decisive, and definitive. This is not the and opportunity structures in a society. These tinuum, representing a classical, conservative same as authoritarian characteristics, which elements operate on the individual and drive perspective. This officer, emphasizing the tend to be negative and describe a person who him or her toward conforming or noncon- “cop” nature of the job, stresses surveillance, is tyrannical, dictatorial, harsh, inflexible, and forming behavior. Because internal and ex- enforcement, and community protection. a strict disciplinarian. Generally, we use the ternal forces cause the deviant behavior, a The “law-enforcer” is more inclined to vio- term authoritative to refer to a probation or person cannot be held fully responsible or late and recommend revocation for probation parole officer who is not reluctant to rely on culpable for his or her actions. Thus the ap- violations. At the other extreme is the “thera- his or her power and authority to effect propriate correctional response should be to peutic agent,” or social worker, who stresses change in the substance-abusing offender. expose the underlying causes and provide casework and treatment. This officer gener- The authoritative approach relies heavily on correction or rehabilitation (Torres, 1996, p. ally is reluctant to violate, choosing instead our law-enforcement, control agent role, and 18). The agency that endorses this explana- to continue counseling and attempt to modify is necessary, in our view, because the person- tion of substance-abusing behavior will seek the offender’s violating behavior (Torres, ality traits described above tend to immobi- an officer with a social work orientation to- 1997b, p.12). lize the addict from seeking treatment on his ward supervision, perhaps possessing a Mas- A third category or style identified by own. This approach, like any other, can cer- ter of Social Work (MSW) degree. Klockars is the “time-server,” who has little tainly be a negative style if utilized in an ex- According to the rational choice, classical commitment to his or her career and does the treme or excessive fashion. Agencies should explanation, crime is the result of choice or bare minimum to get by. The final style is that select officers willing to use their authority free will wherein the offender considers the of the “synthetic officer,” who strives to inte- decisively to direct the offender toward ser- cost and benefits of the behavior before act- grate both treatment and enforcement com- vices and programs that will address drug ing. This model is based on the -pleasure ponents. This officer endeavors to encourage abuse issues and other problem areas. Because principle, which maintains that if the poten- the offender to obtain treatment while bal- of the personality traits described above, when tial pleasure outweighs the potential pain, the ancing the need for community protection the substance abuser relapses, the drug spe- probability of the behavior will be greater. (Torres, 1997b). cialist must be decisive, definitive, and explicit Some of the principles of the classical school Tomaino (1975, pp. 41-46) describes the in dealing with substance abuse violations. model are similar to those found in the social “five faces of probation supervision” as: help- Depending on the offender’s substance abuse learning principles of positive and negative him-understand, have-it-make-sense, let- history it may be necessary to coerce, threaten, reinforcement. In the classical school, because him-identify, it’s-up-to-him, and make-him- and otherwise pressure him or her into treat- people exercise free will, the appropriate do-it. Tomaino gravitates toward the “have- ment before the offender reverts to prior pat- crime control strategy is a punishment suited it-make-sense” face in which the officer at- terns of criminal behavior. If the substance to the severity of the offense. Retribution, in- tempts to integrate the social-worker and law- June 2000 THE SUBSTANCE ABUSE SPECIALIST 49 enforcer roles. In this respect, Tomaino would time setting and enforcing limits, and deci- well meaning, simply will not be effective with favor what Klockars has called the synthetic sively encouraging, coercing and threatening the substance abusing offender and will only officer. While none of these fit neatly into an an offender into treatment if he or she con- reinforce manipulative, game-playing behav- ideal approach for supervising the substance tinues to abuse drugs or alcohol. The drug ior. The strategy described here has served us abuser, it is possible to extract elements from specialist must remain alert to the potential well in the Central District of California and three of the five faces described by Tomaino threat posed by the offender who continues has resulted in a low positive rate and a low to develop an effective strategy. In the “have- to use drugs and/or alcohol and must move rate of new criminal conduct, while also mo- it-make-sense” face, probationers keep the quickly to remove him or her from the com- tivating a significant number of offenders to rules when it is credible to do so because this munity if the offender poses a threat to any- participate in drug treatment. We believe that better meets their needs. With the “it’s-up- one. our approach has contributed toward com- to-him” face, probationers know exactly what munity safety while also serving the best in- they have to do, what happens if they don’t, terest of the substance abusing offender. and that it’s up to them to perform. The law- Conclusions enforcer, “make-him-do-it” face holds that The magnitude of the drug/crime correlation probationers keep the rules only if you take a problem in the U.S. requires a proactive, ag- References hard line, exert very close supervision, and gressive supervision strategy. In this article, Atmore, T. & Bauchiero, E.J. (1987). Substance stay completely objective in your relations we have briefly described the strategy that we abusers: Identification and Treatment. Correc- with them. These three “faces” can be inte- implemented in the federal probation office tions Today, 49, 25-36. grated into an effective style as a means to in the Central District of California at Los Beck, A.J. and Mumola , C.J. (1999). Bureau of jus- encourage or coerce a substance-abusing of- Angeles, which can best be described as an tice statistics bulletin: Prisoners in 1998 (Of- fender into treatment. The consolidation of intensive surveillance-treatment approach fice of Justice Programs Publication No. NCJ the three “faces” might approximate a that requires total abstinence and holds of- 175687). Washington, DC. Klockars’ right-leaning synthetic officer fenders accountable for their decision to use (Torres, 1997b). drugs or alcohol. While incarceration as a Belenko, S. (1998). Behind bars: Substance abuse In summary, probation officers have a consequence for violating the terms and con- and America’s Prison Population. New York: range of styles into which they fall, based in ditions of probation, parole, or supervised Columbia University. part on their philosophical orientation, per- release always remains an option, the threat Berg, N.L. (1971). Effects of alcohol intoxication sonality traits, view of the job, and the of custody is used primarily to motivate of- on self-concept: Studies of alcohol and controls agency’s theoretical approach to corrections. fenders to participate in a treatment program. in laboratory conditions. Quarterly Journal of Most authors clearly suggest that the most It has further been suggested that the per- Study of Alcoholism, 32, 442-458. desirable style is that of the synthetic officer, sonality traits exhibited by substance abusers in which the social-worker and law-enforcer do not readily respond to the nondirective, Bonczar, T.P. and Glaze, L.E. (1999). Bureau of roles are integrated and balanced. However, social worker approach. Traits such as impul- justice statistics bulletin: Probation and Parole while a kind of integration is desirable, a “bal- sivity, sociopathy or psychopathy (a cluster in the United States, 1998 (Office of Justice Pro- ance” may not be the most effective approach of problematic and high risk traits), depres- grams Publication No. NCJ 178234). with the substance-abusing offender. The law- sion, low energy, egocentricity, low self-es- Clear, T.R., & Cole, G.F. (1997). American correc- enforcer, “make-him-do-it” style, at least at teem, anxiety, and a low tolerance for frus- tions, Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Publishing. the outset, is more likely to be effective in set- tration, in combination, do not readily re- ting limits, which is of critical importance in spond to the disease model approach. We Clear, T.R., & Cole, G.F. (2000). American correc- supervising a substance abuser caseload have emphasized that the probation officer tions. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Publishing. (Torres, 1997b). This type of officer does not drug specialist, should possess authoritative Cowan, J.D., Kay, D.C., Neideert, G.L., Ross, F.E., recoil from maximizing the coercive power personality traits such as dominance, being & Bellmore, S. (1979). Defeated and joyless. of the criminal justice system to encourage– imposing, decisive, and definitive. These de- Problems of drug dependence (NIDA Mono- and compel, if necessary–an offender into sirable authoritative traits were also differen- graph Series 27). Rockville, MD. treatment. It is a style that does not fit neatly tiated from the less desirable authoritarian into the above typologies but instead draws traits like tyrannical, dictatorial, and harsh. Deschenes, E., Turner, S. & Clear, T. (1992). The heavily on the law-enforcer, “make-him-do- Needless to say, excellent organizational skills effectiveness of ISP for different types of drug it” role in order to accomplish what the so- are important in probation and parole gen- offenders. Unpublished paper presented at the cial worker seeks to attain through a support- erally, but even more so with a drug offender annual meeting of the American Society of ive, warm, and nonjudgmental relationship. caseload due to the high level of activity which Criminology. New Orleans, LA (November). The authoritative officer will use community occurs. Eaglin, J.B. (1984). A process-description study of resources and services extensively to assist the Lastly, we have described the various styles the drug aftercare program for drug- dependent offender while at the same time monitoring or typologies found in the probation litera- federal offenders. Washington, DC: Federal Ju- abstinence with intensive surveillance and ture and have concluded that the authorita- dicial Center. drug testing. We believe, therefore, that the tive traits needed to effectively supervise the drug specialist should be a right-leaning syn- substance abusing offender are most likely to Eaglin, J.B. ((1986). The impact of the federal drug thetic officer, able to identify, locate, and refer be found in the law-enforcer, “make-him-do- aftercare program. Washington, DC: Federal Ju- to community resources while at the same it” style. The social-worker approach, while dicial Center. 50 FEDERAL PROBATION Volume 64 Number 1

Hare, R.D. (1993). Without conscience: The disturb- Smith, G.M. (1980). Perceived effects of substance Vanderpool, J.A. (1969). Alcoholism and the self- ing world of the psychopaths among us. New abuse. Theories on drug abuse: Selected contem- concept. Quarterly Journal Study of Alcoholism, York, NY: Simon & Schuster Inc. porary perspectives. Rockville, MD: National In- 32, 442-458. stitute of Drug Abuse. Klockars, C.B. (1972). A theory of probation su- Wish, E.D., Brady, E., & Cuadrado, M. (1986). pervision. Journal of Criminal Law, Criminol- Speckart, G. & Anglin, M.D. (1986). Narcotics use Urine testing of arrestees: Findings from Man- ogy and Police Science, 63, 550-557. and crime: An overview of recent advances. hattan. New York: Narcotic and Drug Research. Contemporary Drug Problems, 13, 741-769. Martin, W.R., Hewitt, B.B., Baker, A.J., and Wish, E.D. (1987). Drug use in arrestees in Man- Haertnen, C.A. (1977). Aspects of the psycho- Tomaino, L. (1975). The five faces of probation. hattan: The dramatic increase in cocaine from pathology and pathophysiology of addiction. Federal Probation, 39, 42-45. 1984 to 1986. New York: Narcotic and Drug Drug and Alcohol Dependence, 2. Research. Torres, S. (1996). Should corrections treat or pun- Nathan, P.E., & Lisman, S.A. (1976). Behavioral ish substance-abusing offenders? Federal Pro- Zamble, E. & Quinsey, V.L. (1997). The criminal and motivational patterns of chronic alcohol- bation, 60(3), 18-23. recidivism process. Cambridge, England: Cam- ics. In R.E. Tarter & A.A. Sugarman (Eds.), Al- bridge University Press. Torres, S. (1997a). An effective supervision strat- coholism (pp. 479-577). Reading, MA: Addison- egy for substance-abusing offenders. Federal Wesley. Probation, 61(2), 38-44. Smart, R.G. (1977). Perceived availability and the Torres, S. (1997b). The substance-abusing offender use of drugs. Bulletin of Narcotics, 29, 59-63. and the initial interview. Federal Probation, 61(4), 11-17.