The context for this dissertation is the growing use of voluntary sector organisations and private companies as providers of probation services in England and Wales. The study focusses on the everyday experience of probation supervision in an increasingly multi-agency environment and explores this experience from the point of view of probation workers and the people they supervise. The objectives of the study are to examine whether the probation service makes a distinctive contribution to this work, to investigate the interactions between supervisees, probation supervisors and workers from other agencies, to explore the purpose of different elements of community orders and to understand whether supervisees adopt different approaches to compliance with different elements of their orders. Drawing on empirical interview data, supplemented by data from probation service case records and from fieldwork notes compiled while in probation offices undertaking interviews, I identify patterns, themes and associations which help us understand the new structures and relationships. The research concludes that, for supervisees and supervisors, the involuntary nature of community supervision is significant. The supervisees in this study viewed the requirements of their community orders as legitimate because the orders were imposed by the court. They complied with these requirements in order to avoid breach proceedings, few would have volunteered for the services that they were receiving from the probation service or elsewhere. They attached more weight to instructions from probation supervisors than to those from key workers from other agencies. Supervisees viewed their orders as both a punishment and a help, without drawing a distinction between services received from the probation service and from other agencies. Thus the research makes a significant contribution to knowledge by outlining the importance of these relationships, between worker and supervisee and between worker and worker, in a new context of provision.

In Canada, bail supervision programs were developed, in partnership with community-based organizations, to promote bail compliance and provide supervision to accused persons who would otherwise have been detained in remand custody. While many of these programs use traditional risk assessment tools to guide supervision, limited research has been conducted on their effectiveness in the bail supervision context. Adopting a quantitative as well as qualitative methodology, this study uses a representative sample of 100 supervision clients from one Ontario bail program to examine the validity of its risk tool – Service Planning Instrument™ (SPIn) Pre-Screen – as well as demographic and criminal justice factors, in predicting bail supervision outcomes. Analyses suggest that SPIn lacks predictive validity in the bail supervision setting. These findings are discussed within the broader context of net widening, as well as the greater bail/remand crisis and the culture of risk aversion that pervades the Canadian criminal justice system.

Approximately one in fifty US adults are currently under probation or parole supervision (Glaze & Kaeble, 2014). Given this prevalence, it is important to understand the correlates of probation and parole supervision arrangements and outcomes. One important outcome is supervision length adjustments, often made because of a violation revocation or discretionary supervision extension. A supervision length adjustment can result in shortened or extended supervision lengths relative to sentence expiration. Prior research has overlooked organizational and ecological correlates of many probation/parole outcomes, including supervision adjustments. This study contrasted potential supervision adjustments made four years from assignment for 12,320 male and female probationers and parolees sentenced from August 1, 2009 to July 31, 2010 in a local jurisdiction. Supervision adjustment types included on-time completion, shortened supervision, extended supervision, and ongoing or continuing supervision. This study also examined the number of additional supervision days when supervision extensions did occur. Findings showed that agency response to client behavior and organization shaped supervision length adjustments. Some differences in supervision length adjustments also emerged across subgroups of parolees and probationers, and between males and females. One important policy implication is the inequitable adjustments to supervision lengths across subgroups. Another implication is to consider how organizational structure affects adjustments to supervision lengths. Future probation and parole research should carefully consider organizational and social processes when addressing community supervision outcomes. / Criminal Justice

The current prevailing approach to managing offenders in the community involves community supervision professionals such as probation and parole officers partnering with other community professionals, such as psychologists, social workers, and other mental health providers to address offenders’ needs. Each type of professional draws from a unique field with goals, values, and theoretical orientations, which do not necessarily overlap. These relationships are rarely studied, and previous examinations are limited. The current study aims to address this deficit in the empirical literature. Drawing on data obtained from qualitative interviews, four aims were examined. First, using thematic analysis, interview data are analyzed open-endedly to identify major themes. Second, these partnerships are examined against the interprofessional competencies in the healthcare system. Third, the perceived impact of partnerships on offenders’ success in the community is discussed. Finally, differences in themes within community supervision professionals and mental health providers were quantitatively examined by comparing groups using a variety of demographic variables. Major themes identified by mental health providers include the appreciation for and challenges to collaboration, individual characteristics and roles, characteristics of collaboration, elements of interprofessional relationship, and the involvement of the courts. Community supervision professionals discussed issues pertaining to collaboration and services coordination, professional roles, when conflict occurs, and their lack of basic knowledge about other professionals. Themes identified in the initial thematic analysis resembled healthcare values and ethics competencies and roles and responsibilities competences; healthcare competencies regarding interprofessional communication and teamwork showed partial congruence with the current data’s themes. Perceived impact on offender outcomes was most evident in how collaboration helps each professional complement the others’ work. Few significant quantitative patterns within groups were evident. Overall, treatment providers and supervision professionals value interprofessional collaboration. Their priorities differ, which provides better opportunities to address clients’ needs but also creates the potential for conflict. Benefits to re-entry outcomes are the result of treatment providers addressing the needs of clients and supervision professionals addressing the motivation of clients. This research highlights the strengths of this type of interprofessional collaboration, and offers suggestions for improving the efficacy of collaborations.

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No description available.

Ce mémoire a pour objectif de comprendre l’expérience de travail des agents œuvrant en réinsertion sociale auprès de condamnés provinciaux en collectivité au Québec. Plus précisément, cette recherche souhaite saisir le rôle exercé par ces agents, dans un contexte où ils exercent un double mandat de sécurité publique et de réinsertion sociale. L’étude tente aussi de mettre en lumière leurs pratiques de travail, inscrites dans une logique de gestion efficace des risques. Enfin, ce mémoire vise à comprendre la place qu’occupe la réinsertion sociale dans le cadre de leur travail. Pour ce faire, l’approche qualitative a permis de mener quinze (15) entretiens auprès d’agents de probation et d’intervenants issus du secteur communautaire responsables de la surveillance de justiciables provinciaux en collectivité. Deux (2) thèmes principaux émergent de ces entrevues. D’une part, Le travail est décrit par les participants en regard du double rôle exercé, des responsabilités légales et cliniques qui leur incombent, et de l’intervention centrée sur le risque et la réinsertion sociale auprès des contrevenants. D’autre part, Le contexte de travail réfère au partenariat établi entre les intervenants, au recours aux outils actuariels, ainsi qu’aux instances modulant leurs pratiques de travail : les médias, la Commission québécoise des libérations conditionnelles et les Services correctionnels du Québec. Il ressort de nos analyses que la sécurité publique par la gestion efficace des risques se manifeste par une forme de rationalisation des pratiques de travail et par l’intégration d’un rôle de contrôle. Il appert cependant que ces deux (2) aspects sont motivés avant tout par le désir de venir en aide à la population contrevenante. Il résulte finalement de l’étude que la réinsertion sociale ne constitue qu’un objectif de l’intervention parmi d’autres. Les participants doivent jongler avec ces diverses finalités afin de s’ajuster à l’acteur principal de leur travail : le contrevenant. / This thesis aims to understand the work experience of professionals involved in offender reintegration in a community monitoring context in Quebec. More specifically, this research aims to grasp their role, considering that they must both ensure public safety and promote reintegration. The study also attempts to bring to light their work practices, based on effective risk management logic. Finally, this thesis aims to understand the role of reintegration within their functions. To proceed, the qualitative approach was used to conduct fifteen (15) interviews with probation officers and community workers in charge of offender supervision in Quebec. Two (2) main themes emerged from these interviews. On one hand, Work is described in regards to role duality, legal and clinic responsibilities and intervention focused on risk and reintegration. On the other hand, the Work context refers to partnerships created with other professionals involved in the reintegration, actuarial assessment, as well as instances that may influence their work practices, such as the media, the Parole Board of Quebec and the Correctional Services of Quebec. It appears from our analysis that public safety through effective risk management results in rationalization of their practices as well as monitoring as a part of their role. However, it seems that these two (2) aspects are primarily motivated by a strong desire to help offenders. Our study shows that those implicated in the reintegration process must juggle with multiple goals within their duties. Reintegration is not the only objective pursued, as they must constantly adjust their actions to focus on the main character involved in their work: the offender.

Mental illness and substance use disorders have been determined to be leading predictors for recidivism among criminal offenders in the United States who are released to community supervision. Women make up an increasing in percentage of this criminal justice population; however, few studies have explored the role that gender plays in determining men and women's recidivism. Offender's education, employment, and peer association have also been reported to be predictors increasing the likelihood of recidivism among criminal offenders. This study was designed to determine if gender, mental illness, substance use disorder, employment, education, and peer association predicted recidivism. Differential association theory and gender pathways theory provided the theoretical framework for this study for examining archival data obtained from the Court Services and Offender Supervision Agency AUTO Screener and Supervision Management Automated Record Tracking System. Multiple logistic regression analysis showed that substance use disorder significantly predicted recidivism, while employment decreased the likelihood of recidivism. This study did not find a significant interaction between mental illness and substance use disorder or mental illness only. Additionally, neither gender, education, nor peer association were found to be associated with recidivism. This study promotes social change by highlighting the increasing need for services for offenders and identifying the complex factors that impact recidivism. The findings from this study will be helpful to criminal justice agencies for developing programs that address the need of SUD and employment for offenders to reduce the likelihood of recidivism and increase public safety.

My thesis is about supervision in therapeutic communities for drug abusers in the Czech Republic. In the first, theoretical part, there are described concepts the supervision and the therapeutic community. It shows a developement of TC's in the world and also in the Czech Republic and describes the history of TC's for drug abusers after 1989. Part of thesis is about clients of TC's and also about what is therapeutic community therapeutic. It's giving point also to quality standards, that are for these organisations and their supervision. The second part, empirical, maps and describes supervision praxis in TC's in the Czech Republic. Answers the questions: who is providing supervision in TC's(external, internal), with whom is supervision provided (team, individual, group), what is it about (case, program, focused on employees for example team, management), how is it provided (regular, occasional, crisis). After all it is about the developement of supervision in TC's after 1989 and reasons, that in TC's leads to change of supervisor. And at least to conflicts of roles, that accompanied (accompanies?) supervision in TC's.

Ce mémoire a pour objectif de comprendre le processus décisionnel entourant la gestion des bris de condition de justiciables suivis en communauté. Plus précisément, cette recherche vise à mettre en lumière le rôle de la relation entre les agents et les justiciables dans ce processus décisionnel. Cette étude vise également à comprendre la manière dont interviennent le contexte organisationnel et le contexte sociopolitique dans la gestion des bris de condition. Pour ce faire, nous avons employé une méthodologie qualitative. Cette approche s’est actualisée par la réalisation de neuf (9) entrevues de type semi-dirigé auprès de professionnels en milieu communautaire supervisant des justiciables en communautés et intervenant dans la gestion de bris de condition. Les thèmes émergents de notre analyse se recoupent en deux catégories. La première catégorie se rapporte aux dimensions liées au contexte interpersonnel qui sont constituées des représentations que les participants entretiennent du justiciable et de la libération conditionnelle. Ces dimensions s’opérationnalisent au sein d’un moment central dans la gestion du bris, à savoir la rencontre disciplinaire. La deuxième catégorie se rapporte aux dimensions liées au contexte organisationnel. Ces dimensions comprennent le rôle de l’approche communautaire, du cadre décisionnel et du contexte socio-politique dans la gestion des bris de condition. Il ressort de nos analyses que le processus décisionnel entourant la gestion des bris de condition repose sur l'interaction de plusieurs dynamiques desquelles est produit un savoir expert. Ces dynamiques entourent la relation avec le justiciable, le savoir issu du contexte organisationnel, la dynamique d’équipe et la relation avec le service correctionnel. La gestion des bris s’articule également à travers la tension entre la philosophie de l’organisation et les représentations des participants et les discours issus du contexte socio-politique. Ce contexte est composé du courant politique, du contexte administratif et des événements médiatiques qui interviennent avec le savoir expert produit par ces professionnels sur lequel repose leur marge de manœuvre dans la gestion des bris. Finalement, nous effectuons un retour sur nos objectifs de recherche et ouvrons sur des recommandations concernant des études ultérieurs. / This thesis aims to understand the decision-making process regarding the management of breach of condition for parolees in the community. More specifically, this study seeks to understand how the relation built between the parolee and his supervisor intervene in the decision-making process. The research also aims to explore how the organisational context and the sociopolitical context have an impact on the management regarding the breach of condition. To proceed, we used a methodology based on a qualitative approach. Accordingly, we conducted nine (9) semi-directed interviews with professionals supervising parolees and managing breach of condition in the community. Results from the interviews are divided in two categories. The first category includes the dimensions related to the interpersonal context. This context includes the representations of the participants regarding the parolees and the parole itself. These dimensions are operationalised in a key moment of this process, which is the disciplinary meeting. The second category describes the dimensions related to the organisational context. These dimensions include the community approach, the decision-making framework and the socio-political context around the management of the breach of condition. Our analyses illustrate how the decision-making process is related to the interrelation between multiple dynamics from which an expert knowledge is produced. Those dynamics are formed around the relation between the parolee and the professional, the knowledge from the organisational context, the dynamic from within the clinical team and the relation with the correctional service. The management of breach of condition also lies on the tension between the organisation’s philosophy, the representations of the participants and the discourses from the socio-political context. This context includes the political mainstream, the administrative context and the mediatic events that intervene on the expert knowledge produced by the professionals in which their discretionary power lies in the decision-making. Finally, we went back to our objectives and open the study on recommendations for future research.