SUFFOLK COUNTY (NY) - UNITIZED COMMUNITY PROBATION SERVICES PROJECT (BABYLON PROJECT) - FINAL EVALUATION

• NCJ Number: 16898
• Author(s): B J ANNO; M WEITZNER; A SMITH; H HARTMAN; W JONES; J ABBRACCIAMENTO
• Date Published: Unknown
• Length: 176 pages
• Sponsoring Agency: Suffolk County Probation Dept
• Corporate Author: John Jay College of Criminal Justice
• Sale Source: National Institute of Justice/
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

EVALUATES PROJECT TO REDUCE CRIME BY PROVIDING CITIZENS WITH NEEDED SERVICES, SUCH AS FAMILY, MARITAL, AND GROUP COUNSELING, COMMUNITY PROBATION SERVICE, AND INNOVATIVE PROGRAMS FOR CULTURAL ENRICHMENT.

Abstract

THE EVALUATION INVOLVED EXTENDED AND THOROUGH INTERVIEWS WITH ADMINISTRATIVE PERSONNEL OF THE PROBATION DEPARTMENT. INTERVIEWS WERE ALSO CONDUCTED WITH TWENTYTWO PROBATIONERS FROM THE PROJECT AND TWENTY PROBATIONERS FROM THE DEPARTMENT. A MAJOR FOCUS OF THE EVALUATION HAS BEEN ON CLIENT-PROBATION OFFICER INTERACTION AND ON THEIR PERCEPTIONS OF THE PROCESS IN WHICH THEY HAVE BEEN INVOLVED. OTHER FACETS OF THE EVALUATION ARE ENUMERATED BELOW. AN EXTENSIVE QUESTIONNAIRE WAS GIVEN TO ALL PROFESSIONAL STAFF IN BOTH THE PROJECT AND THE DEPARTMENT RELATIVE TO THE USE AND FUNCTIONS OF PROBATION AIDES. VIOLATION OF PROBATION AND RECIDIVISM FIGURES HAVE BEEN COMPILED FOR BOTH THE PROJECT AND THE DEPARTMENT. JOB PLACEMENT FIGURES HAVE BEEN OBTAINED AND THE TYPES OF PLACEMENTS ANALYZED. JUVENILE ARREST RATES HAVE BEEN ANALYZED. IN THE AREA MOST GENERALLY THOUGHT OF AS THE BASIC FUNCTION OF PROBATION, NAMELY, SUPERVISION OF PROBATIONERS, THE EVALUATION FINDINGS DO NOT INDICATE THAT THE PROJECT HAS BEEN MORE SUCCESSFUL THAN HAS THE DEPARTMENT. (AUTHOR ABSTRACT)