NCJ Number
188425
Date Published
2000
Length
19 pages
Annotation
This report profiles strategies and programs for dealing with high-risk offenders in the community, namely, gang members, sex offenders, and other offenders who may pose a high risk to community safety.
Abstract
The section on "Targeting Gang Members" includes a description of Los Angeles County's Specialized Gang Supervision Program (SGSP). The SGSP includes six units, each consisting of one supervising deputy probation officer, eight deputy probation officers, and appropriate clerical and administrative support. The supervisor of each unit maintains close contact with groups in the community that deal with the violence of youth gangs. Deputy probation officers supervise and provide direct probation services to 50 offenders with a history of youth gang involvement. This section of the report also discusses the increase in violence by female gang members. Topics addressed include the role of women in gangs, the characteristics of gang women, the attraction of gang membership for women, the changing role of women in gangs, and corrections response to violent female gang members. Part II profiles strategies for dealing with sex offenders in the community. Maryland's program of outpatient treatment for sex offenders is described. The aim of this program is to lower the recidivism rate for sex offenders through close supervision combined with psychotherapeutic intervention. The report discusses criteria for program participation, the referral process, and clinic programs. Also included in this section are descriptions of California's pilot parole program for high-risk, predatory sex offenders; Jackson County's (Oregon) program for sex offenders; Ohio's program for sex offender parolees; therapeutic services for sex offender caseloads in Texas; and Idaho's program for sex offenders that balances surveillance and treatment. Part III describes programs for other high-risk offenders, including New York City's Special Offender Unit for Hard-Core Parolees, Virginia's program for high-risk offenders, Georgia's specialized parole caseload, and the Federal Bureau of Prisons' Comprehensive Sanctions Center.