Federal Probation Journal : June 2004
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June 2004 Volume 68 Number 1 IN THIS ISSUE This Issue in Brief Multicultural Competencies in Probation: Issues and Challenges By Robert A. Shearer, Patricia Ann King Interagency Priorities at the Crossroads: Aftercare Among Drug Users By Bernadette Pelissier, Timothy Cadigan Electronic Monitoring of Domestic Violence Cases: A Study of Two Bilateral Programs By Edna Erez, Peter R. Ibarra, Norman A. Lurie The Imposition of Economic Sanctions in Philadelphia: Costs, Fines, and Restitution By R. Barry Ruback Private and Public Sector Prisons: A Comparison of Select Characteristics By Curtis R. Blakely, Vic W. Bumphus Listening to Victims: A Critique of Restorative Justice Policy and Practice in the United States By Harry Mika, Mary Achilles, Ellen Halbert, Lorraine Stutzman Amstutz, Howard Zehr In Cold Blood Revisited: A Look Back at an American Crime By Sally J. Keglovits High Anxiety Offenders in Correctional Settings: It’s Time for Another Look By Shelley Johnson Listwan, Kimberly Gentry Sperber, Lisa Murphy Spruance, Patricia Van Voorhis An Assessment of the Capacity to Measure Performance Among the Nation’s Prison Systems By Kevin N. Wright Assessing Customer Service Satisfaction with U.S. Pretrial Services, District of Nebraska By Mindy S. Bare, Dana L. Miller, Travis E. Wilcoxen Juvenile Focus Reviews of Periodicals Your Bookshelf on Review Contributors to This Issue The articles and reviews that appear in Federal Probation express the points of view of the persons who wrote them and not necessarily the points of view of the agencies and organizations with which these persons are affiliated. Moreover, Federal Probation's publication of the articles and review is not to be taken as an endorsement of the material by the editors, the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts, or the Federal Probation and Pretrial Services System. Published by the Administrative Office of the United States Courts www.uscourts.gov Publishing Information Volume 68 Number 1 Home This Issue In Brief Multicultural Competencies in Probation: Issues and Challenges The vast numbers of persons currently being supervised under probation sentences are a diverse group who exhibit a wide variety of treatment and supervision concerns that probation officers are expected to address. The questions and issues addressed in this article speak directly to the role of multicultural competencies in probation as officers supervise this diverse group of offenders. Robert A. Shearer, Patricia Ann King Interagency Priorities at the Crossroads: Aftercare Among Drug Users Three-quarters of the inmates housed in state and federal prison in 1997 could be categorized as alcohol- or drug-involved, yet only about 20 percent of those within six months of release report having received treatment. The recent focus on reentry draws attention to the issue of treatment after release from prison and the more general topic of collaboration between various criminal justice agencies in addressing reentry requirements. Bernadette Pelissier, Timothy Cadigan Electronic Monitoring of Domestic Violence Cases: A Study of Two Bilateral Programs The criminal justice system has been using electronic monitoring for about 20 years, typically as a form of house arrest, an alternative sanction, or in the context of pretrial release. The authors examine the use of EM for victim protection in domestic violence cases. Edna Erez, Peter R. Ibarra, Norman A. Lurie The Imposition of Economic Sanctions in Philadelphia: Costs, Fines, and Restitution The author examines fines, costs, and restitution in Philadelphia during the seven-year period 1994–2000, looking at breakdowns of crimes and distinguishing those in which private individuals and businesses were the victims from those in which the State was the victim. He also tracks relationships among the awarding of the different kinds of economic sanctions. R. Barry Ruback Private and Public Sector Prisons: A Comparison of Select Characteristics This study compares the private and public prison sectors on a number of characteristics, including correctional officer wages and retention rates, staff-to-inmate ratios, frequency of institutional violence, etc. Findings are used to place the sectors upon an ideological continuum showing the degree to which each subscribes to the correctional philosophies of eligibility and normalization. Curtis R. Blakely, Vic W. Bumphus Listening to Victims: A Critique of Restorative Justice Policy and Practice in the United States This research seeks to discern the victim role in restorative justice policy and practice in the U.S. through direct consultation with victims, their advocates and victim service providers. The authors discuss the theory and reality of restorative justice, including difficulties in implementation and features of good practice. Harry Mika, Mary Achilles, Ellen Halbert, Lorraine Stutzman Amstutz, Howard Zehr In Cold Blood Revisited: A Look Back at an American Crime In November 1959, four members of the Clutter family were murdered in their home in Holcomb, Kansas—the result of a planned burglary by two parolees. The crime, which became the subject of Truman Capote's best-selling "non-fiction novel" In Cold Blood, was widely considered to mark a watershed in the national perception of American violence. Sally J. Keglovits High Anxiety Offenders in Correctional Settings: It's Time for Another Look The authors accumulate evidence across four studies that find neurotic offenders of particular interest to correctional practitioners and policy makers because of these offenders' poor adjustment to prison, high recidivism rates, and poor performance in cognitive skills intervention. Shelley Johnson Listwan, Kimberly Gentry Sperber, Lisa Murphy Spruance, Patricia Van Voorhis An Assessment of the Capacity to Measure Performance Among the Nation's Prison Systems This research assessed the current capacity of departments of corrections to participate in a national reporting system, finding that almost all prison systems possess the capacity to measure and report about the aggregate prisoner population under supervision, while most also collect information about escapes, homicides, and suicides. Beyond these measures, significant disparity exists. Kevin N. Wright Assessing Customer Service Satisfaction with U.S. Pretrial Services, District of Nebraska The authors assessed customers' attitudes toward the quality of service provided by Pretrial Services in the District of Nebraska, including among these "customers" defendants, judges, U.S. attorneys, U.S. marshals, defense attorneys, alcohol and drug treatment staff, and U.S. Probation. Mindy S. Bare, Dana L. Miller, Travis E. Wilcoxen back to top The articles and reviews that appear in Federal Probation express the points of view of the persons who wrote them and not necessarily the points of view of the agencies and organizations with which these persons are affiliated. Moreover, Federal Probation's publication of the articles and review is not to be taken as an endorsement of the material by the editors, the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts, or the Federal Probation and Pretrial Services System. Published by the Administrative Office of the United States Courts www.uscourts.gov Publishing Information Volume 68 Number 1 Home Multicultural Competencies in Probation—Issues and Challenges References Robert A. Shearer, Ph.D. Patricia Ann King, Ph.D., L.P.C SINCE JOHN AUGUSTUS introduced the notion of probation in 1841, the number of probationers in the United States has grown exponentially. Today, probation is the most widely used sentencing option in the United States. As of 2001, there were 3,932,751 adult men and women on probation (Bureau of Justice Statistics, 2002). Of this number, 22 percent (870,000) were women. Breaking the total down racially, one-third (1,228,700) were African-American, one-half were white (2,175,600), one-eighth (469,800) were Hispanic, and persons of other race represented 2 percent (58,600). Two of the most demographically diverse states, Texas and California, led the nation in number of adults supervised in the community, together accounting for over one million persons. Furthermore, more than 2.1 million adults entered probation supervision during 2001. Since 1995, the annual number of probation entries has increased by 34 percent. Probationers are sentenced for a wide variety of offenses, and Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) data indicate that half were convicted of a felony and that a quarter were convicted of drug law violations. Also, three out of four were under active supervision, requiring that they report regularly to a probation authority. Clearly, the vast numbers of persons supervised are a diverse group who exhibit a wide variety of treatment and supervision concerns that probation officers are expected to address. The questions and issues addressed in this discussion speak directly to the role of multicultural competencies in probation as officers supervise this diverse group of offenders. From "Nothing Works" to "What Works?" From its inception in the 1800s, probation was considered a form of treatment. John Augustus, acknowledged as the first probation officer, sought out offenders whom he thought could be rehabilitated. This idea dominated correctional thinking for many years. Cullen and Gendreau (2001) assert that positivism was the prevailing philosophy during the early years of modern criminology, with very specific ways of both explaining and controlling crime. They concluded that five principles underlie