Ryan M. Labrecque

Improving probation officers' supervision skills: an evaluation of the EPICS model

Previous research suggests traditional probation and parole services perform less than optimally in reducing recidivism. In response to these findings, several attempts to integrate the principles of effective intervention and core correctional practices into community supervision have been made. Preliminary results from several jurisdictions suggest that the use of core correctional practices within thecontext of community supervision has been associated with meaningful reductions in offender recidivism. This research provided the impetus for the development of a new model by the University of Cincinnati Corrections Institute, entitled Effective Practices in Community Supervision (EPICS). The purpose of the EPICS model is to teach community supervision officers how to translate the principles of effective intervention into practice, and, more specifically, how to use core correctional practices in face-to-face interactions with offenders. Results indicated that officers trained in the EPICS model demonstrated more consistent use of core correctional practices. Remarkably, trained officers also became more proficient in their use of these skills over time as a result of participation in coaching sessions. These preliminary findings underscore the importance of training and coaching as an on-going process to assist agencies in gaining adherence to the principles of effective intervention and core correctional practices.

The Importance of Reassessment: How Changes in the LSI-R Risk Score Can Improve the Prediction of Recidivism

The Level of Service Inventory-Revised (LSI-R) is a correctional assessment tool that identifies the individual risk and needs of criminal offenders. The predictive validity of the LSI-R has the support of numerous studies, large samples, and multiple meta-analyses. The dynamic nature of many of the items in the LSI-R suggests that offenders are capable of altering their likelihood for future reoffending. However, despite the hundreds of studies conducted on the LSI-R, there have been only two to investigate whether or not changes in LSI-R score were empirically related to recidivism (Raynor, 2007; Vose, Lowenkamp, Smith, & Cullen, 2009). The current study attempts to add to this literature by assessing the predictive and dynamic validity of the LSI-R. Furthermore, this study is the first to investigate the relationship between changes in LSI-R domain scores and recidivism. The results support the LSI-R as a valid instrument in predicting recidivism and suggest future research on risk/needs assessments should include examinations of the percentage change in risk scores.

Creation and Validation of an Inmate Risk Assessment for Violent, Nonsexual Victimization

Abstract Recent prison studies have identified several factors associated with the odds of both committing and being victimized by inmate violence. Toward the end of developing an instrument for assessing an inmate’s risk of violent, nonsexual victimization, we examined predictors of victimization grounded in extant studies of the topic. The sample included 12,024 adult male inmates. Using a 25% random sample of these inmates, a risk assessment instrument was created to predict the likelihood of violent, nonsexual victimization during incarceration (the Inmate Risk Assessment for Violent Nonsexual Victimization [RVNSV]). The RVNSV was validated on the three additional random subsamples of inmates. Bivariate and multivariate analyses confirm the RVNSV as a valid predictor of institutional violent, nonsexual victimization. These findings support the further exploration of prison risk assessment tools that use measures of victimization as dependent variables.

Does Training and Coaching Matter? An 18-Month Evaluation of a Community Supervision Model

Abstract During the last decade, several formalized approaches have been developed to improve the effectiveness of probation and parole by implementing evidence-based research into community supervision practices. A key component of these new approaches are the use of officer coaching sessions, which are designed to improve officer fidelity in the core correctional skill areas. This study explores the impact of an initial training and monthly coaching sessions in the Effective Practices in Community Supervision (EPICS) model on probation and parole officer use of core correctional skills. The results examine the average quarterly officer use of skills over an 18-month follow-up period based on training status (i.e., trained versus untrained officers) in the EPICS model. This study adds to the understanding of the role training and coaching may play in improving officer use of core correctional skills. Policy implications and recommendations for future research are also discussed.

Taking stock: A Meta-Analysis of the Predictors of Restrictive Housing

ABSTRACT Two competing views on the use of restrictive housing have emerged in the literature. The first position has argued that restrictive housing helps make correctional institutions safer and more secure environments, largely by incapacitating violent and dangerous inmates. In contrast, a second perspective has maintained that restrictive housing not only causes serious psychological damage and increases criminal coping, but also that it has served as a mechanism for officials to punish certain groups of inmates unfairly. This study tests these competing hypotheses by meta-analyzing the literature on the predictors of placement in restrictive housing. The results of this investigation provide support for both perspectives. The implications of the study’s findings are discussed.

A quasi-experimental evaluation of a juvenile justice reinvestment initiative

Abstract There is an increasing movement throughout the United States and abroad to develop cost-effective and evidence-based strategies that enhance public safety, decrease recidivism, and reduce the number of inmates held in correctional facilities. One such recent approach to achieve these goals is the use of justice reinvestment strategies, which promote the reallocation of funds initially designated for imprisonment into other community-based alternatives. Although the available research generally indicates many of the reinvestment initiatives undertaken so far are effective in achieving these goals, much less empirical attention focuses on what aspects of these programs are effective. In response, this study fills a critical gap in this literature by evaluating how different treatment services and offender risk levels influence the recidivism of youth involved in a justice reinvestment program in Ohio. The findings of this study indicate youth who were incarcerated were nearly two times as likely to recidivate during a one-year follow-up compared to similarly matched youth who participated in the justice reinvestment programming. This study also found that the effectiveness of treatment was also moderated to a large extent by treatment modality and offender risk level. The policy implications of these findings and recommendations for future research are also discussed.

An Examination of the Inter-Rater Reliability and Rater Accuracy of the Level of Service/Case Management Inventory

ABSTRACT Correctional agencies use risk assessment instruments for a wide range of purposes, including to help classify, manage, and treat offenders. The literature on offender risk assessment largely focuses on assessing for predictive accuracy, and far less research examines reliability in scoring. This study adds to this gap in knowledge by assessing how reliably and accurately a group of trained raters score one particular risk assessment tool, the Level of Service/Case Management Inventory (LS/CMI). Findings reveal an adequate to strong level of inter-rater reliability across the domains of the LS/CMI. These results also suggest there is a wide range of rater accuracy across the items and domains of the LS/CMI. The policy and practical implications of these findings are discussed.

Towards a more proactive approach to brand protection: development of the Organisational Risk Assessment for Product Counterfeiting (ORAPC)

ABSTRACT Through an adaptation of a terrorism risk assessment model, this article develops an initial proactive product counterfeiting risk assessment that is designed to focus upon a specific product’s risk for being counterfeited. The goal of developing this risk assessment is to help corporations identify the products that are most at risk for counterfeiting, thereby giving them the ability to focus their resources in the areas where the greatest opportunities for crime are present. This risk assessment is intended to serve as the first line of defence in a comprehensive and proactive brand owner strategy centred on identifying product-specific counterfeiting risk. The assessment comprises three factors that, together, capture a product’s counterfeiting risk level: the threat of product counterfeiting, the brand owner’s vulnerability to product counterfeiting and the potential consequences of a counterfeit product entering the market and reaching consumers.

Reinvesting in the Lives of Youth A Targeted Approach to Reducing Recidivism

Justice reinvestment strategies have been proposed to allow financial resources originally allocated for imprisonment to be reinvested into community-based alternatives. According to this perspective, the government has the responsibility to fund strategies that reduce crime, and previous studies have questioned the effectiveness of prison as one solution. Furthermore, empirical support for community-based alternatives underscores the importance of delivering interventions in offenders’ natural environments. This study explores one state’s attempt to fund strategies that reduce crime and delinquency. Through the Targeted Reasoned and Equitable Community and Local Alternatives to the Incarceration of Minors (RECLAIM) initiative, the State of Ohio attempted to reduce the risk of recidivism by serving more youth locally, instead of in secure facilities in the six most populous counties throughout the state. Specifically, the findings suggest that the Targeted RECLAIM initiative was successful in reducing the risk of recidivism of participating youth.

Reducing Institutional Disorder: Using the Inmate Risk Assessment for Segregation Placement to Triage Treatment Services at the Front End of Prison Sentences:

Most correctional scholars and policy makers agree that prison authorities should use restrictive housing less, yet few studies exist to provide guidance on how to do so while also ensuring institutional order. This study advances the idea that proactively providing rehabilitative programming to inmates at the front end of prison sentences will help reduce institutional disorder. In so doing, we create and validate a risk assessment instrument to predict inmate likelihood for placement in restrictive housing during one’s commitment. The findings of this study support the predictive validity of the tool. We argue that authorities can use this assessment to make more informed and targeted programming decisions during the intake process that will help reduce institutional misconduct and the need for restrictive housing.