Showing papers by "Christopher T. Lowenkamp published in 2013"

The federal Post Conviction Risk Assessment (PCRA): a construction and validation study.

Abstract: Offender assessment has been and remains the cornerstone of effective community supervision. This article presents the development of and tests the predictive validity of a 4th-generation risk assessment instrument designed for U.S. probation. A large administrative data set was used to create the assessment instrument and conduct an initial validation. Subsequent data generated from officer-completed assessments were used to conduct a prospective validation. Finally, data from case vignettes scored by trained officers were used to test the interrater agreement of the assessment instrument. Overall, analysis revealed that the assessment instrument predicted rearrest reliably when using the assessment results based on administrative data or officer-completed assessments. Analysis also revealed high rates of interrater agreement. Recommendations for future research and policy implications are presented.

The Systemic Model of Crime and Institutional Efficacy An Analysis of the Social Context of Offender Reintegration

Abstract: The systemic model of crime has received considerable empirical attention from criminologists; yet, an often-neglected component of the theoretical framework is the role of social institutions as a source of both formal and informal social control. Accordingly, the current study builds on recent research that considers the importance of institutional strength for the reduction of criminal behavior; in particular, the authors assess the impact of social-structural characteristics on the treatment program integrity (i.e., institutional efficacy) of 38 halfway house programs in Ohio. The authors' results indicate that communities suffering from concentrated resource deprivation have a more difficult time creating and maintaining strong institutions of public social control. The implications for criminological theory and correctional policy are discussed.

A Tale of Two Innovations: Motivational Interviewing and Core Correctional Practices in United States Probation

Abstract: The recent past in community supervision has witnessed the introduction of a number of new innovations intended to improve offender outcomes. While many of these innovations have focused on various ‘programs’, more recently the focus has shifted to officer supervision skills and their impact on outcomes. This chapter focuses on two broad officer skill sets, motivational interviewing and what has come to be known as core correctional practices. The chapter discusses the efforts of the United States probation system in implementing these skill sets, with a focus on how the implementation process may impact fidelity to the intervention and subsequent offender outcomes. Over a three-year period several hundred probation officers were trained in motivational interviewing (MI). While initial training was fairly standard, there was considerable variability in follow-up training, coaching and implementation practices. Scores based on the Motivational Interviewing Treatment Integrity (MITI) manual were collected from a sample of trained officers. The MITI revealed that very few officers were actually proficient in MI. Further, the outcomes of the trained officers’ caseloads before and after training were compared with the outcomes of caseloads belonging to officers who were not trained in MI. This comparison showed no significant differences in client success. A couple of years later, probation officers were trained in core correctional practices. Officers were provided with initial training and then several structured booster sessions to ensure that they were correctly using the skills.

Macro-Level Theories A Longitudinal Analysis of the Welfare-Homicide Relationship : Testing Two (Nonreductionist)

Abstract: Drawingonthesocialaltruismandsocialthreathypotheses,thepresentinvestigationchallengespriormacro-levelstudiesthatassumethatthereisanonrecursiverelationshipbetween welfare transfers and the aggregate level of homicide. The bivariate auto-regressiveintegratedmovingaverageanalysesofthenumberofindividualsreceivingAidtoFamiliesWithDependentChildren(AFDC)benefitsandtotalanddisaggregatedcountsofhomiciderevealnoevidenceofsimultaneitybias.However,aspredictedbysocialaltruismtheory,theresultssupporttheconclusionthatpriorresearchisprobablytaintedbyoffenseaggregationbias.Thatis,thenumberofAFDCrecipientsis,aspre-dicted,negativelyassociatedwiththeleveloffamilialhomicidesbutisnotassociatedwitheitherthelevelofnonfamily,felony-related,nonfelony-related,ortotalhomicides.Theimplications of these findings for the welfare-crime relationship are discussed.