Probation Officer Role Emphases and Use of Risk Assessment Information before and after Training

Abstract

This research examined how probation officers use risk information about offenders, and how its use is affected by what aspects of their role they emphasize. Officers (N = 152) were invited to complete surveys before and after a risk assessment tool training (46.0-65.8% participation rate). Surveys assessed estimates of reoffense and officers' likely supervision approach given a probationer's risk level. Officers tended to overestimate the likelihood of medium- and high-risk offenders to reoffend. As risk level rose, officers tended to increase the number of meetings and referrals. Officers' role emphases were related to how they perceived low-risk offenders' likelihood to reoffend, but not for offenders at other risk levels. There was relative consistency in officers' role emphases, supervision decisions, and responses to violations, so that differences in practice did not appear to be systematic. Most officers' risk perceptions were more realistic after training. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.