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The Effects of Sanction Intensity on Criminal Conduct - JDAI Helpdesk

The Effects of Sanction Intensity on Criminal Conduct - JDAI Helpdesk

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ABSTRACT<br />

THE EFFECTS OF SANCTION INTENSITY ON CRIMINAL CONDUCT:<br />

A RANDOMIZED LOW-INTENSITY PROBATION EXPERIMENT<br />

Charlotte Elizabeth Gill<br />

John MacD<strong>on</strong>ald<br />

Probati<strong>on</strong> is a well-established part <str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g> our criminal justice toolkit, but we know<br />

surprisingly little about the circumstances under which it is effective.<br />

Attempts to<br />

increase supervisi<strong>on</strong> intensity for crime- and cost-saving purposes have yielded mixed<br />

results at best. This dissertati<strong>on</strong> examines the theory and scientific evidence <strong>on</strong> the<br />

effectiveness <str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g> probati<strong>on</strong>, and the impact <str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g> changing the intensity <str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g> probati<strong>on</strong><br />

sancti<strong>on</strong>s <strong>on</strong> recidivism.<br />

First, we c<strong>on</strong>duct a rigorous search and synthesis <str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g> the existing literature <strong>on</strong><br />

intensive probati<strong>on</strong> programs. We utilize meta-analysis to identify the circumstances<br />

under which such programs might be effective. We find no evidence that probati<strong>on</strong>ers in<br />

these programs fare better than their counterparts under traditi<strong>on</strong>al supervisi<strong>on</strong>. We call<br />

for further research into supervisi<strong>on</strong> approaches that emphasize behavioral management<br />

over c<strong>on</strong>tact frequency and caseload size. Sec<strong>on</strong>d, we employ a range <str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g> statistical<br />

procedures to examine the viability <str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g> saving resources by reducing supervisi<strong>on</strong> for lowrisk<br />

<str<strong>on</strong>g>of</str<strong>on</strong>g>fenders. In a randomized c<strong>on</strong>trolled trial comparing low-intensity probati<strong>on</strong> to<br />

v

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