The Impact of Probation on the Criminal Activities of Offenders (original) (raw)
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The Impact of Formal and Informal Social Controls on the Criminal Activities of Probationers
Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency, 2002
The monthly self-reported criminal activities, risk behaviors, and local life circumstances of offenders who began sentences of probation in northern Virginia were examined during the year prior to arrest, between arrest and probation, and during the first eight months of probation. The criminal activities and risk behaviors of the offenders declined dramatically after arrest and continued at this lower level throughout the probation period studied. When these offenders participated in highrisk behaviors such as carrying a gun, using drugs, and heavy use of alcohol, they committed more crimes; conversely, when they lived with spouses or were employed, they committed fewer crimes. There was no change in local life circumstances from the prearrest, arrest, and probation periods. The decline in criminal activities after arrest and during probation did not appear to be related to changes in informal social controls as measured by local life circumstances. The results were interpreted as consistent with a possible a deterrent effect. Approximately 58 percent of the 5.3 million adults under some type of correctional supervision during 1995 were serving terms of probation (Maguire and Pastore 1997). Seventy percent of the adults under correctional control are in their communities on state or federal probation or parole. Probationers account for a large proportion of the criminal activities in large, urban areas, and many of them are rearrested within three years of starting probation. Most research investigating the criminal activities of probationers has We wish to thank Claire Souryal, Julie Horney, and Scott Decker for their valuable input to this project. The probation and parole departments; District Chiefs Leslie Bubenhofer, Linda Eichenbaum, and Peter Stephenson; as well as the office staff provided a great deal of ongoing assistance for which we are very appreciative. And finally, we would like to thank all the probationers who participated in this study.
Drivers of the Sentenced Population: Probation Analysis
2013
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 License. • Between 1993 and 2011, an increasing proportion of felony probationers in Illinois were accounted for by females, whites, Hispanics, and older probationers. • The majority of felons discharged from probation were successfully terminated from supervision throughout the period examined. The proportion of felons discharged from probation as a result of a revocation of probation for either a technical violation or a new offense remained stable, and relatively low (at or below 10 percent statewide), throughout the time period examined. • Success on probation can mean less reliance on prison, but failure on probation can result in commitment to the Illinois Department of Corrections. Individuals who had their probation revoked or were reconvicted of a new crime while on probation accounted for roughly 15 percent of all those sentenced to prison, a proportion that remained relatively stable through the time period examined.
Justice Research and Policy, 2000
We examined probation outcomes in a sample of more than 2,400 discharged adult probationers in Illinois. We grouped predictor variables into three major categories (probationer characteristics, offense type, and sentence characteristics), and studied three different probation outcomes (rearrest, technical violations, and revocations). Logistic regression analyses showed that different predictors were related to different outcomes and replicated many of the results of previous research. Age, income, prior adult convictions, histories of drug abuse and dependence, and supervision setting were significant predictors of all three outcomes. Race, education, conviction offense, offense class, and sentence length predicted some of the outcomes, but not all three.
Probation and Parole: Public Risk and the Future of Incarceration Alternatives*
Criminology, 1993
Jail and prison populations in the United States have continued to grow unabated during the past two decades but crime rates have not declined. Partly in response to the pressures caused by burgeoning correctional populations, the use of alternatives to incarceration has expanded. An ongoing debate centers on the effectiveness of these alternatives. Many criminal justice professionals and some researchers question whether such alternatives seriously restrict the criminal justice system 's ability to incapacitate the active offender. This study deals specifically with two alternatives to incarceration: probation and parole. We examine offender recidivism for a sample of probationers and parolees active in New Orleans, Louisiana, and offer a new approach to addressing the effectiveness issue. Past research has evaluated the effectiveness of alternatives by examining failure rates of diverted offenders. High failure rates, we argue, do not necessarily imply a significant loss of th...
Legal and Extralegal Factors Associated with Success on Misdemeanor Probation
Open Journal of Social Sciences, 2022
Probationers make up the largest share of the correctional population in the US, with recent data indicating that one out of 72 American adults is on probation. There is limited research on probation outcomes, particularly misdemeanor probation, despite its potential disruptive life impacts for relatively minor offenses. This study asked what specific demographic and probation characteristics are associated with successful misdemeanor probation completion, using data from one county in a southern state. Data from 2016-2018 were analyzed for 6600 cases. Of these, 70.8% had successful case outcomes. Analyses showed that successful outcomes were associated with being female, Hispanic, having more than high school education, no unpaid fines, and being older. Probationers were less likely to be successful if Black, if not their first offense, and if convicted for property crimes. Implications for practice, policy, and research are discussed, as is the importance of local data analysis for tailored understanding of probation at a community level.