The Effects of Sanction Intensity on Criminal Conduct - JDAI Helpdesk
The Effects of Sanction Intensity on Criminal Conduct - JDAI Helpdesk
The Effects of Sanction Intensity on Criminal Conduct - JDAI Helpdesk
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therefore a safe strategy for restructuring probati<strong>on</strong> supervisi<strong>on</strong> according to APPD’s<br />
plans (Barnes et al., forthcoming).<br />
<str<strong>on</strong>g>The</str<strong>on</strong>g> Present Study<br />
While the results <str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g> the Low Risk Experiment are promising, this summary does<br />
not provide a full picture <str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g> the predictive power <str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g> the model or the severity <str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g> <str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g>fending<br />
in our sample. Despite the compelling evidence in favor <str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g> statistical risk predicti<strong>on</strong>, it<br />
can never be an error-free endeavor. As Grove and Meehl (1996) note: “[T]he statistics<br />
furnish us with the probabilities so far as anything can” (p. 306). Actuarial predicti<strong>on</strong> for<br />
correcti<strong>on</strong>al policy provides neither individualized predicti<strong>on</strong>s nor actual outcomes for a<br />
given pers<strong>on</strong>. <str<strong>on</strong>g>The</str<strong>on</strong>g> Philadelphia model identifies low-risk <str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g>fenders in part based <strong>on</strong> their<br />
prior history, but it is entirely possible that <str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g>fenders with a criminal history c<strong>on</strong>sidered<br />
to be ‘serious’ <strong>on</strong> some basis could have been assigned a low-risk predicti<strong>on</strong>, based either<br />
<strong>on</strong> the balance <str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g> other factors or varying definiti<strong>on</strong>s <str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g> <str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g>fending severity. It is also<br />
possible that low-intensity supervisi<strong>on</strong> could lead to an escalati<strong>on</strong> in <str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g>fending severity as<br />
it becomes less likely that probati<strong>on</strong> <str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g>ficers will pick up and act <strong>on</strong> violati<strong>on</strong>s and<br />
transgressi<strong>on</strong>s (and as <str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g>fenders begin to realize this). <str<strong>on</strong>g>The</str<strong>on</strong>g>se are the cases that get picked<br />
up by the public, politicians, and the media, and serve to undermine an otherwise rati<strong>on</strong>al<br />
policy. To this end, it is important to ensure that the low-risk predicti<strong>on</strong> model and lowintensity<br />
supervisi<strong>on</strong> do not have hidden harmful effects.<br />
<str<strong>on</strong>g>The</str<strong>on</strong>g> APPD experiment also raises a broader theoretical questi<strong>on</strong> – what is the<br />
nature <str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g> ‘n<strong>on</strong>-serious’ <str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g>fending, and how does it differ from higher-level <str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g>fending?<br />
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