Responding to substance-use-related probation and parole violations: are enhanced treatment sanctions preferable to jail sanctions?

An increase in correctional treatment programming options coupled with prison population reduction legislation has driven a widespread transfer of supervision from prisons to community corrections. As a result, medium-to-high risk offenders with substance use needs are increasingly managed through c...

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Bibliographic Details
Authors: Boman, John H. (Author) ; Mowen, Thomas J. (Author) ; Miller, Bryan Lee (Author) ; Miller, J. Mitchell (Author) ; Wodahl, Eric J. (Author)
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
Published: 2019
In: Criminal justice studies
Year: 2019, Volume: 32, Issue: 4, Pages: 356-370
Online Access: Volltext (Resolving-System)
Check availability: HBZ Gateway
Keywords:
Substance Use
Graduated sanctions
Intensive supervision probation
Jail
Offender programming
substance abuse treatment
Description
Summary:An increase in correctional treatment programming options coupled with prison population reduction legislation has driven a widespread transfer of supervision from prisons to community corrections. As a result, medium-to-high risk offenders with substance use needs are increasingly managed through community-based supervision programs such as intensive supervision probation (ISP). ISP programs frequently rely on different types of graduated sanctions to encourage program completion. To further develop research on how graduated sanctions should be applied in response to substance-use-related violations, this study examines whether enhanced treatment sanctions (a rehabilitative approach) and jail sanctions (a punitive approach) may differentially impact successful ISP completion. Using a sample of persons who committed a substance use violation while on ISP, results from multilevel models demonstrate that enhanced treatment sanctions are significantly associated with increased odds of successful ISP completion. On the other hand, jail is not significant, and enhanced treatment and jail do not interact to influence ISP program success. Due to the deleterious nature of the jail environment, findings call into question the utility of jail sanctions on ISP outcomes. Overall, enhanced treatment may be a preferable means through which to sanction probationers and parolees who commit substance-use-related violations while under community supervision.
ISSN:1478-6028
DOI:10.1080/1478601X.2019.1664506