The Effects of Sanction Intensity on Criminal Conduct - JDAI Helpdesk

A low-intensity probation model involving minimal contact with a probation
<strong>of</strong>ficer allows low-risk <strong>of</strong>fenders who do not pose a threat <strong>of</strong> serious future harm to
rebuild their lives relatively unencumbered by probation <strong>of</strong>fice visits and programming.
From a punishment perspective, such a low-level sanction is commensurate with their
<strong>of</strong>fending and the risk they pose to society. From a rehabilitation perspective, it may be
argued that low-risk <strong>of</strong>fenders have less need for services and programs than their highrisk
counterparts, and thus need less attention from probation <strong>of</strong>ficers. In these respects,
the ‘carrot’ <strong>of</strong> low-intensity supervision, along with the ‘stick’ <strong>of</strong> being returned to
increased supervision or jail for failure, may act as a deterrent to future <strong>of</strong>fending. <strong>The</strong>
deterrence literature lends some support to this idea. Studies <strong>of</strong> the perceived certainty
and severity <strong>of</strong> punishment have indicated that individuals with greater experience <strong>of</strong>
criminal <strong>of</strong>fending perceive a lower risk <strong>of</strong> punishment than individuals with little or no
experience (Paternoster et al., 1983; Nagin, 1998). If we assume that low-risk <strong>of</strong>fenders,
in general, have less extensive criminal careers than higher-risk <strong>of</strong>fenders, we could make
the argument that low-risk <strong>of</strong>fenders might be more likely to be deterred by the threat <strong>of</strong>
losing the relative ‘freedom’ <strong>of</strong> low-intensity supervision if they re<strong>of</strong>fend. Furthermore,
one might argue that low-risk <strong>of</strong>fenders will commit more crime if they receive more
supervision than they need. <strong>The</strong> perception that the sentence is disproportionate to their
risk level and thus unfair may weaken <strong>of</strong>fenders’ respect for the criminal justice system,
leading to a defiant response expressed as an escalation <strong>of</strong> recidivism (Sherman, 1993).
Thus, assignment to low-intensity supervision may help to ensure that low-risk <strong>of</strong>fenders
perceive the sanction as legitimate.
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