A Multi-Site Evaluation of Reduced Probation Caseload Size in an Evidence-Based Practice Setting (20

Abstract

Criminal justice researchers have studied caseload size to determine whether smaller caseloads improve probation outcomes. With exceptions, the findings have been disappointing: Reduced probation officer caseloads have not reduced criminal recidivism for high risk probationers and have increased revocation rates. One explanation is that officers with reduced caseloads do not materially change their supervision practices when caseloads are reduced—they either fail to achieve increased supervision intensity (control) or fail to improve treatment intervention (correction), or both. This raises the question: Would reduced caseloads improve supervision outcomes for medium to high risk offenders in a probation agency that trains its officers to apply a balance of controlling and correctional/rehabilitative measures? The logic is that the reduced caseload would allow probation officers to better deliver correctional interventions, thereby reducing recidivism without unduly increasing revocations. This research report answered this question in three purposefully selected probation agencies: Oklahoma City; Polk County, Iowa; and four judicial districts in Colorado. The results showed that reducing probation officer caseloads can reduce criminal recidivism when delivered in a setting where probation officers apply evidence based practices.