CORRECTIONS IN THE COMMUNITY Sixth Edition Edward J. Latessa, Ph.D. & Paula Smith, Ph.D. School of Criminal Justice, University of Cincinnati Table of Contents About the Authors Preface Acknowledgments Chapter 1 The Criminal Justice System Chapter 2 Sentencing and Community Corrections Chapter 3 Probation in America Chapter 4 Parole in America Chapter 5 What Works in Probation and Parole Chapter 6 Juveniles and Community Corrections Chapter 7 Roles of Probation and Parole Officers Chapter 8 Offender Assessment Chapter 9 Strategies for Managing and Providing Service to Offenders Chapter 10 Intermediate Sanctions Chapter 11 Community Residential Correctional Programs
Chapter 12 Special Populations in Community Corrections Chapter 13 Drug and Other Problem-Solving Courts Chapter 14 Evaluating Community Corrections Chapter 15 The Future of Corrections in the Community Glossary / Index
About the Authors Edward J. Latessa is Professor and Director of the School of Criminal Justice at the University of Cincinnati. He received his Ph.D. from the Ohio State University in 1979. Dr. Latessa has published more than 140 works in the area of criminal justice, corrections, and juvenile justice. He is coauthor of seven books, including What Works (and Doesn t) in Reducing Recidivism and Corrections in America. Dr. Latessa has directed over 150 funded research projects including studies of day reporting centers, juvenile justice programs, drug courts, prison programs, intensive supervision programs, halfway houses, and drug programs. He has been involved in evaluations of more than 600 correctional programs throughout the United States, and he has provided technical assistance and workshops in over forty-five states. Dr. Latessa is a member of the Office of Justice Programs Science Advisory Board subcommittee for the Bureau of Justice Assistance (appointed 2011) and has been a reviewer for the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Model Programs Guide. He is also a Senior Reviewer in the area of Corrections and Courts for the National Institute of Justice and the Office of Justice Programs. Dr. Latessa served as President of the Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences (1989-90). He has also received several awards, including: the Sylvia Boltz Tucker Award for Leadership and Service from the College of Education, Criminal Justice and Human Services, University of Cincinnati (2014); co-recipient of the MacNamara Award for best published paper from the Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences (2014); the Marguerite Q. Warren and Ted B. Palmer Differential Intervention Award presented from the Division of Corrections and Sentencing of the American Society of Criminology (2010); the Outstanding Community Partner Award from the Arizona Department of Juvenile Corrections (2010); the Maud Booth Correctional Services Award in recognition of dedicated service and leadership presented by the Volunteers of America (2010); the Community Hero Award presented by Community Resources for Justice (2010); the Bruce Smith Award for outstanding contributions to criminal justice from the Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences (2010); the George Beto Scholar Award from the College of Criminal Justice, Sam Houston State University (2009); the Mark Hatfield Award for Contributions in public policy research from The Hatfield School of Government at Portland State University (2008); the Outstanding Achievement Award from the National Juvenile Justice Court Services Association (2007); the August Vollmer Award from the American Society of Criminology (2004); the Simon Dinitz Criminal Justice Research Award from the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction (2002); the Margaret Mead Award for dedicated service to the causes of social justice and humanitarian advancement from the International Community Corrections Association (2001); the Peter P. Lejins Award for Research from the American Correctional Association (1999); the ACJS Fellow Award (1998); and the ACJS Founders Award (1992). In 2013 he was identified as one of the most innovative people in criminal justice by a national survey conducted by the Center for Court Innovation in partnership with the Bureau of Justice Assistance and the U.S. Department of Justice. Paula Smith is an Associate Professor in the School of Criminal Justice at the University of Cincinnati. She received her Ph.D. in psychology from the University of New Brunswick in 2006. Her research interests include offender classification and assessment, correctional rehabilitation, the psychological effects of incarceration, program implementation and evaluation, the transfer of knowledge to practitioners and policy makers, and meta-analysis. She has authored more than 60 articles, book chapters, and conference presentations on the aforementioned topics. Dr. Smith has
directed numerous research projects and has been involved in evaluations of more than 400 correctional programs throughout the United States. She is a member of the Accreditation Panel for the National Offender Management Service in the UK as well as the Global Consortium on Corrections Research with Griffith University in Australia. In addition to her research experience, Dr. Smith has considerable frontline experience working with a variety of offender populations, including juvenile offenders, sex offenders, and perpetrators of domestic violence. Currently, she provides technical assistance to criminal justice agencies throughout the United States and Canada.
Preface When the first edition of Corrections in the Community was written, the field was experiencing unprecedented incarceration rates, and prison construction and populations were expanding at an alarming rate. Much of what was done in community corrections followed the theme of getting tough with crime and offenders. Intensive supervision without treatment, boot camps, shock incarceration and other sanctions were all tried, with little success in changing offender behavior. Since that time, much has changed. New prisons are not being built, and the prison population is actually in decline. We have also learned a great deal about how to more effectively improve the programs and services we offer our correctional population. Many of these programs operate in the community and we believe that the field is moving away from risk management to one of risk reduction identifying those most in need of programs and supervision and targeting those criminogenic needs of offenders to actually reduce recidivism rates. Of course, to do that effectively we need to understand what the research and data tells us about designing and implementing evidence-based practices. A great deal of this edition addresses these important topics risk assessment, improving supervision practices, using data to measure performance and outcomes, and following some empirically derived principles that will allow the system to be more effective and humane, and less costly. Writing a book on a topic as broad and dynamic as community corrections is a very difficult task. It is extremely hard to know when to stop. The field is changing rapidly and, as a result, information and data are quickly outdated. We believe that we have pulled together some of the most recent and salient information available; however, we accept responsibility for any errors or shortcomings. There are several caveats we would like to make concerning this book. First, as with prior editions, there are a great many charts and tables with data. Memorizing the numbers is not important, as they change daily. What is important are the trends over time. We want students to see patterns of what is happening in community corrections and to use this information to critically think about the issues facing the field. Second, we recognize that students are not always interested in the historical aspects of a subject, and we have tried to keep that material to a minimum; however, we also believe that is important to understand where we came from and some of the reasons we do things the way we do in corrections. We have also provided key words, review questions, boxed material, and recommended readings to help highlight information that can help the student navigate the book and to better identify some of the key concepts and ideas. In today s world, we have seen an information explosion, and it is easy to find resources to learn more about virtually every topic in
this book. We encourage students to be inquisitive and to seek out additional information that can advance their knowledge and understanding. Third, we have added some new material. Drug and other problem-solving courts are now found in every state, and we felt it was important to expand our discussion of this important movement. It represents a new way to deal with some of the problems that face our citizens, be it substance abuse, or reentry to the community from prison. These innovations have changed how many courts and communities view the problems that millions of Americans face. More importantly, they also demonstrate that we do not have to always rely on incarceration, and that many of our solutions to the crime problem can be found in the community, especially when various parts of the system work together to seek solutions. Fourth, you will also become aware of our bias. We believe that we still incarcerate too many of our citizens, that this is not good social policy, and that many can be supervised in the community without seriously jeopardizing public safety. We believe that much public treasure is wasted and human misery increased while incarcerating low-risk offenders. As our good friend Frank Cullen often says, we are liberal, not stupid. We recognize that some offenders those who are violent and would likely cause serious harm to others belong in prison. We do not believe, however, that all or even a majority of the nearly two million or so incarcerated fit that description. Finally, while probation and parole practices are often slow to change, we do not believe this has to be the case. In just a few short years we have seen more and more agencies and programs move toward evidence based practices, and if there is one theme to this book it is that we can indeed use research to improve the field and ultimately the lives of those who come into contact with the correctional system. While there is little doubt that change is slow and that old ideas persist, we also believe that the future of community corrections is bright and filled with promise. It is hoped that the instructors and students that use our book will find the subject of community corrections as interesting and stimulating as we do. Edward Latessa & Paula Smith Cincinnati, Ohio