Criminal Justice

In an essay style, according to the VERA document define recidivism. Identify how is recidivism measured in this report? What is evidence-based practices? Discuss for of the challenges facing community-corrections discussed in this report. One of the approaches discussed in this report is , surveillance and enforcement approach, what did this report say about this approach? What are technical violations? Why were they discussed?

ANSWER

In the context of the VERA document, recidivism can be described as a process by which one gets a relapse into criminal activity, more so after being punished or having undergone intervention for a previously committed crime. For instance, someone who has been in prison for theft cases gets involved in theft again immediately after being released. Recidivism is generally caused by several factors such as sociological, economic, lifestyle, and personal factors. Studies show that recidivism is mostly contributed by factors within the criminal justice system accompanied by personal decisions and behavior (Butts & Schiraldi 2018). The VERA document highlights that community corrections’ success rates are not encouraging, which is contributed by technical revocations accompanied by other factors. This article bases its argument on recidivism as discussed in the VERA document and highlights several aspects.

Recidivism is generally measured through reconviction, re-incarceration, re-arrest, or supervision violation, especially for those under probation or parole. The subject document highlights that the measurements mentioned above are due to the urge by criminogenic demands. Criminogenic demands are individualistic shortages and situations commonly known to forecast criminal acts if not attended to in time. The community supervisors have several offenders on their caseloads; every offender requires more attention. The minimal resources for supervision are caused by constraint budgets provided to the supervisors, hence lack of clerical support. Factors beyond the supervisors’ control contribute to the relapse from offenders. The subject factors include offenders being placed on probation for long periods, set treatment paid by offenders, long supervision conditions, and the fines, fees, and community service responsibilities that the supervising officers are tasked to enforce and monitor.

Evidence-based practices are defined as result-oriented strategies and mediations that have been scientifically evaluated in controlled circumstances and proven viable; it implies a substantial result that is quantifiable and described based on practical happenings such as victim satisfaction. Examples of evidence-based practices include target interventions, skill training with directed practice, enhanced positive reinforcement, and enhanced intrinsic motivation, to mention a few. Community corrections face several challenges, such as limited funding to enhance effective supervision, staff insecurity, and inmate violence, which greatly interfere with the correction centers’ expected monitoring (Cullen, Jonson & Mears 2017). The inability to cope and deploy required technological advancements due to limited funding greatly affects the expected outcomes in correctional centers. Finally, the lengthy periods of offender sentencing lead to overcrowding in the facilities, leading to shortages of resources and loopholes in the supervision process.

The surveillance and enforcement approach has been used in the context of being the most effective and prudent strategy of supervising offenders; it is commonly referred to as “tail ’em, nail ’em, and jail ’em.” The subject approach allows officers with limited time and means to effectively evaluate the risks and requirements, avail case management, provide required services and do a follow-up with families or employers to resort to the safest means at their disposal. The VERA report says that officers, in the context of surveillance and enforcement, can record a violation and recommend invalidation immediately a concerning behavior is noted. A technical violation is defined as an offender’s misconduct under supervision, which is not a criminal offense, thus not resulting from arresting (Dressel & Farid 2018). Such acts include testing positive for drugs, failing to attend scheduled office visits, and missing a curfew, amongst other acts. They are discussed in the subject document as reasons why community corrections often yield poor outcomes due to limited funding and resource allocation in ensuring appropriate services and supervision is offered to those on correction programs.

References

Butts, J. A., & Schiraldi, V. N. (2018). Recidivism reconsidered: Preserving the community justice mission of community corrections.

Cullen, F. T., Jonson, C. L., & Mears, D. P. (2017). Reinventing community corrections. Crime and Justice, 46(1), 27-93.

Dressel, J., & Farid, H. (2018). The accuracy, fairness, and limits of predicting recidivism. Science advances, 4(1), eaao5580.