NCJ Number
86435
Journal
International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology Volume: 26 Issue: 2 Dated: (1982) Pages: 121-125
Date Published
1982
Length
5 pages
Annotation
Victoria's (Australia) Special Supervision Unit (SSU) provides more intensive supervision and a broader range of services for at-risk parolees than are provided under regular parole supervision.
Abstract
The SSU is charged with the assessment and community management of parolees convicted of such offenses as murder, manslaughter, arson, kidnapping, drug abuse, armed robbery, rape, serious sex offenses, terrorist offenses, and serious assaults. Supervision is predominantly one-to-one casework, although one staff member operates a long-term group psychotherapy program for sexual offenders at one of the prisons. Supervision involves frequent client contact, particularly in the early months after release. Counseling and instrumental services are provided, with behavioral monitoring considered crucial. SSU has close links with a forensic psychiatry service, and the staff has regular meetings with parole boards to consider particular cases and overall policy. SSU staff are on classification committees at both adult and juvenile correctional facilities, so as to facilitate the selection of appropriate clients for SSU supervision. The SSU staff prepares reports on all persons eligible for SSU supervision prior to their parole-eligibility date. The reports are given to the parole boards. Although no thorough evaluation has been conducted to determine the effectiveness of the SSU, parole failure (by reoffending or parole condition violations) appears to be no more frequent for the high-risk clients than for parolees under regular supervision.