NCJ Number
156651
Journal
Federal Probation Volume: 56 Issue: 4 Dated: (December 1992) Pages: 12-17
Date Published
1992
Length
6 pages
Annotation
This article describes a demonstration program in which nearly 600 adult drug offenders in five jurisdictions were randomly assigned either to intensive supervision programs (ISPs) or to routine probation/parole and tracked for a year.
Abstract
The primary focus of these programs was surveillance, not treatment; the assumption was that stricter supervision would deter offenders from committing crimes or using drugs. The results showed that ISP offenders were seen more often by probation officers, submitted more frequently to urinalysis testing, received slightly more counseling, and were more often employed than offenders undergoing routine probation. Within one year, ISP offenders had a higher rate of technical violations of their probation conditions, primarily for drug use, but there was no difference between groups in terms of new criminal arrests. Because more ISP offenders had been imprisoned for technical violations, the cost of ISP averaged around $8,000 per year, compared to $5,500 per offender in routine probation. 3 figures and 7 references