NCJ Number
153737
Date Published
Unknown
Length
52 pages
Annotation
The treatment program of the DuComb Center, a community corrections project established in St. Joseph County (Ind.) in 1982, was evaluated with respect to its effects on offender recidivism and other treatment goals and activities.
Abstract
Although the program was designed specifically for low-level property offenders, it has also served a significant number of Class B felons and child molesters. Findings indicated that the program has achieved remarkable success in reducing recidivism, compared with national rates of recidivism among prison and probation releasees. The DuComb Center has also proved that treatment measures such as counseling and community service are significantly related to low rates of offender recidivism. However, the Center should be cautious about admitting offenders with juvenile offense records, especially those who became involved in delinquent activity before age 15. It should also be extremely wary of offenders who were under age 20 at the time of the current offense and eliminate any offenders with prior convictions for violent offenses as adults or adjudication for violent juvenile offenses. The ideal DuComb Center resident is aged 31-55, married, with children, employed full-time at a skilled or professional occupation, convicted for a nonviolent Class D felony, and with no record of drug abuse or mental illness. Less than 10 percent of the DuComb Center population over the last 12 years has met this description. More realistically, staff should screen for offenders who were between ages 20 and 55 at the time of the instant offense and who meet other characteristics described in this report. The Center should also emphasize treatment programs that have been significantly related to low rearrest rates.