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Graduated Sanctions: Strategies for Responding to Violations of Probation Supervision

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Graduated Sanctions: Strategies for Responding to Violations of Probation Supervision VOLUME 1 / ISSUE 4 Graduated Sanctions: Strategies for Responding to Violations of Probation Supervision Figure 1: Supervised Population as of June 2013 Probation’s balanced approach to oender supervision 65,000 32,000 8,000 is necessary to meet its responsibilities of keeping the public safe, holding oenders accountable, and increas- ing the likelihood of oenders successfully reintegrating into the community. The use of intermediate sanctions is a key component of this balanced approach and has helped to reserve terms of incarceration for only serious violations of supervision. What is Public Safety Realignment? Violations of probation supervision can consist of new crimes, or a “techni- Enacted through California Assembly cal violation”, such as not participating in treatment, or missing a meeting Bills 109 and 117, realignment gave with the probation ocer. By using a structured sanctioning and reward counties responsibility to manage two populations of oenders who have been policy, probation departments can use an expanding array of the responsibility of the California Depart- evidence-based tools to ensure oender compliance, while maintaining ment of Corrections and Rehabilitation oender engagement in programs and assisting in the process of positive (CDCR). Post Release Community Supervi- behavior change. Probation Departments are responsible for the supervi- sion (PRCS) and those on Mandatory 1 Supervision(MS) share the fact they have sion of 413,000 people in California (Figure 1). Limited jail bed space been convicted of a felony oense that is throughout the state, coupled with the length of the revocation hearing non-serious, non-violent, and non-sexual. process, underscores the need for a continuum of responses to technical For more information, http://www.cpoc.org/realignment violations. This does not diminish the responsibility of prosecuting new crimes or responding to breaches in oender compliance. Continued on Page 2 - 1 - CPOC ISSUE BRIEF | SPRING 2014 Conditions of Continued from Page 1 Supervision as a Graduated sanctions are “structured, incremental Contract responses to non-compliant behavior while under supervision.”2 This brief looks at the practices of Upon receiving a grant of supervision, oenders are county probation departments to balance the use of given terms and conditions that they must follow. incarceration for technical violations of supervision These conditions give structure and set expectations with other intermediate methods of sanctioning for the period of supervision. General conditions non-compliant and negative behavior. Strategies that may establish how often an oender must meet with combine evidence-based practices, such as utilizing a probation ocer and that they must maintain risk assessment tools and structured decision making sobriety and obey all laws. Specialized conditions matrices, give a department the tools needed to may be added in order to address the oender’s respond to violations with a proportionately matched specic risks, needs, and threat to public safety. response through graduated sanctions. Emerging Specialized conditions might include participation in strategies for the response to these violations treatment programs, drug testing, search and suggest that risk-based probation monitoring, linked seizure requirements, and mandates of non-associa- to eective treatment, as well as swift and certain tion with victims or criminal associates. responses to behavior, increase success and results in Violations of supervision conditions are often part of fewer new crimes. Realignment’s focus on reserving the oender change process, so departments need incarceration for oenders who pose the highest risk tools and evidence based strategies for appropriate- to public safety means county probation depart- ly dealing with violations when they occur. Viola- ments must rely on these intermediate tools to tions that do not involve a new crime need not reduce jail and prison crowding, hold oenders always result in a revocation and incarceration. accountable, keep oenders motivated to change Research by the National Institute of Corrections and engaged with supervision, and produce cost showed that 75% of oenders in a 4-state research eective outcomes that enhance public safety. project were in violation at one time or another Figure 2: Risk to Recidivate as of June 2013, during their supervision term.3 Understanding the by Supervisor Type relative risk factors for each oender is an important step in developing a dynamic case plan and deter- mining how to respond to violations. Nearly 70% of PRCS and 65% of Mandatory Supervision(MS) proba- tioners are categorized as high or medium risk to reoend. This is markedly dierent from the popula- tion on felony probation, of which 50% are at high or medium risk (Figure 2).4,5 Continued on Page 3 - 2 - CPOC ISSUE BRIEF | SPRING 2014 Continued from Page 2 These responses enhance the oender’s motivation to initiate and continue with positive behavior change Given that caseloads for higher risk realigned oend- that results in reduced recidivism and enhanced ers are typically smaller, there is a higher likelihood public safety. Reward and Sanction matrices are that when high-risk oenders commit violations, based on extensive research which illustrates that: probation ocers will be able to detect the violations. As a result, the success of realignment may depend on • The use of incentives can be a powerful tool in how probation departments respond to non-compli- shaping client behavior and promoting positive ance. Since technical violations do not involve new behavior change;6 criminal activity, they usually do not require court or prosecutorial action. This allows probation depart- • Rewards for pro-social behaviors should be ments to exercise signicant discretion to address tailored to the individual;7 technical violations by developing structured decision making processes that use a range of intermediate • Violations can be reduced when responses to sanctions and evidence-based responses. non-compliant behavior are swift,8 certain,9 and proportional to the client’s behavior;10 Figure 3: Graduated Sanctioning Process • Responses to non-compliance should not be more Consistently Swiftly intrusive or restrictive than necessary;11 Identify static identify determine and risk of the violation enforce the oender behavior and sanction severity • Compliance can be increased when responses are perceived as consistent12 and impartial;13 Graduated Rewards and • Risk reduction is best accomplished when the risk and need principles are applied to client manage- Sanctions: Swift, Certain, ment strategies; intensity of responses should and Proportional reect the client’s risk, and responses should target criminogenic needs;14 Reward and sanction matrices – often referred to as structured decision making tools – give counties a • Comments and actions intended to reward way to respond to violations and provide rewards for positive behavior should outnumber those that positive behavior. Reward and sanction matrices are address negative behavior by 4 (or more) to 1.15,16 tools that help probation departments implement both consistent sanctions that discourage non-com- pliance, and consistent rewards that support pro-so- cial behavior. Continued on Page 4 - 3 - CPOC ISSUE BRIEF | SPRING 2014 Continued from Page 3 Evidence from behavioral science in corrections envi- A violation response matrix provides a probation ronments has shown that rewards are eective at shap- ocer with a range of intermediate response options ing behavior and creating lasting oender change. that vary in severity – from admonishing the oender, to increasing oversight of the oender, and up to incar- Positive behaviors may be as simple as arriving at an ceration or revocation of supervision. Most of these appointment on time or as signicant as completing responses can be implemented outside of the court the education requirements of a GED. Some of the process. The level and type of response will depend on most powerful rewards, such as armation and appre- the level of public safety risk posed by the oender, the ciation, reduced drug testing requirements, and reduc- oender’s previous violation behavior, and the serious- tions in the frequency of supervision oce visits, cost ness of the current violation. The consistent application nothing at all, while others may include small value gift of a violation response matrix gives probation depart- cards or bus passes. Oenders themselves may often ments a clear menu and structure for Developing Reward and be the best source for identifying the handling violations, while imparting a Sanction Matrices most impactful and eective rewards. sense of fairness based on the rules that A Rewards and Sanctions matrix the oender was provided at the start of gives counties a structured set of These evidence-based processes increase options for rewarding oenders for supervision. Eective sanctioning consistency, and, when tracked over time, pro-social activities and behaviors, policies increase the likelihood that any as well as holding oender account- can provide administrators with practical, act of non-compliance will be met with able when they violate terms. front line data that can be used to devel- A matrix is developed by the an appropriately matched response that op the most eective supervision will be evidence-based in ways that probation department such that there is uniformity in how a policy is policies. Additionally, when the larger change oender behavior
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