Probation/Parole Agents’ Perceptions of Evidence-Based Practices

• In Event: New Directions in Community Supervision Research: Research Practice Partnerships, Client and Staff Perceptions

Abstract

Community supervision in the U.S. has long functioned at the intersection of punishment, surveillance and control, and welfare provision. Under this blended model of criminal justice, probation and parole departments have increasingly turned toward evidence-based practices for responding to clients’ violations. Probation/parole agents are tasked with implementing these practices in their work with clients on the ground, often using emerging technologies and algorithmic tools designed to provide more standardized responses. To explore agents’ perceptions of and responses to these practices, I draw from semi-structured, in-depth interviews with 60 probation/parole agents working in one Midwestern state. I detail agents’ own decision-making processes in addressing client violations as well as their attitudes toward using evidence-based responses to violations. Importantly, I also highlight agents’ perceived discretion—or the lack thereof—in working with and responding to clients. How do they view discretion alongside departmental moves toward standardization? Finally, I discuss the specific implications of these findings in places across the rural-urban continuum and the ways that local features, such as unequal resource availability and access, can impact—and at times constrain—how agents respond to violations.

Author

• Nicolette Bardele, The Pennsylvania State University