NCJ Number
212217
Journal
The Prison Journal Volume: 85 Issue: 4 Dated: December 2005 Pages: 445-466
Date Published
December 2005
Length
22 pages
Annotation
This study examined the effect of treatment services, organizational supportiveness, and parole officer orientation on parolee supervision for parolees enrolled in an intensive surveillance supervision program in New Jersey.
Abstract
The New Jersey Intensive Surveillance and Supervision Program (ISSP) was established due to the concern that State parole authorities had about the lack of services for several hundred high-risk/high-need parolees. To maximize treatment effectiveness, high-risk parolees were involved in the program where they received more services than those parolees receiving traditional or less intensive traditional parole supervision. The expectation was that more services received by the ISSP parolees, a balanced supervisory style on the part of ISSP staff, and the degree of organizational support within the ISSP would be associated with lower recidivism. This study examined the effect of these treatment services, organizational supportiveness, and parole officer orientation and training on parolee recidivism. The study sample consisted of 240 parolees enrolled in the ISSP and 240 parolees undergoing traditional parole supervision. Across all outcome measures, there was a good deal of consistency, as well as with two other intensive supervision programs (ISPs) of a similar nature. The program works because it is likely very different from surveillance-oriented ISPs, in that it provides more treatment to higher-risk offenders, employs parole officers with balanced law enforcement/social casework orientations, and implements a supportive organizational environment which may reduce recidivism from 10 percent to 30 percent. Tables, notes, references