Building accountability and client–officer relationships through videoconferencing: Exploring best practices for community corrections
| Published date | 01 August 2023 |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1177/20662203231165372 |
| Author | Sebastián Galleguillos,Craig Schwalbe,Deborah Koetzle |
| Date | 01 August 2023 |
| Subject Matter | Original Articles |
Original Article
European Journal of Probation
2023, Vol. 15(2) 97–119
© The Author(s) 2023
Article reuse guidelines:
sagepub.com/journals-permissions
DOI: 10.1177/20662203231165372
journals.sagepub.com/home/ejp
Building accountability and
client–officer relationships
through videoconferencing:
Exploring best practices for
community corrections
Sebasti´
an Galleguillos
CUNY John Jay College of Criminal Justice, USA
Craig Schwalbe
Columbia University, USA
Deborah Koetzle
CUNY John Jay College of Criminal Justice, USA
Abstract
The COVID-19 pandemic forced community corrections agencies worldwide to use
remote technologies to prevent the spread of the virus. A growing body of the literature
suggests that video-conferencing is poised to be a core practice within community
correctional settings. However, little is known about the best practice strategies for
incorporating videoconferencing into routine supervision. We address this gap by in-
terviewing and conducting focus groups with a sample of community correction officers
from the US (N= 16). We identified the presence of the law enforcement—social work
dichotomy in remote settings, reflected in challenges and opportunities when holding
clients accountable and establishing client–officer relationships. Our findings show that
officers relying on evidence-based practices (EBPs) were able to use videoconferencing
tools to overcome remote challenges. We suggest that establishing in-person rela-
tionships, adapting EBP, and taking care of logistics are critical steps to strengthen remote
accountability and client–officer relationships. We conclude by discussing future research
areas.
Corresponding author:
Sebasti´
an Galleguillos, Department of Criminal Justice, CUNY John Jay College of Criminal Justice, 524 W.
59th St, Room 631 Haaren Hall, New York, NY 10019-1093, USA.
Email: sgalleguillos@jjay.cuny.edu
Keywords
Accountability, rapport, community corrections, remote supervision, client/officer
relationships, videoconferencing
Introduction
The occurrence of COVID-19 in 2020 forced criminal justice institutions to take measures
to prevent the spread of the virus between criminal justice practitioners and justice-
involved individuals. These measures include an array of strategies such as releasing
individuals from prisons and jails, establishing health care protocols, and implementing
remote technologies to conduct court hearings or allow videoconferencing contact for
people under community supervision. To date, most of the research has focused on the
measures adopted by the criminal justice system and the impact of the pandemic on crime
rates (e.g., Lockwood et al., 2021;Nivette et al., 2021;Novisky et al., 2020;Piquero et al.,
2021).
The implementation of remote technologies to conduct videoconferencing contact
provides a unique opportunity to explore how probation and parole officers interact with
their clients and employ evidence-based practices (EBPs) in online settings. The im-
plementation of remote supervision in community setting differs from other contingency
strategies such as the release of incarcerated individuals or the application of health care
protocols that target specific problems like overcrowding or the lack of social distance in
prisons and courts. As Schwalbe and Koetzle (2021) espouse, the use of videoconfer-
encing could go beyond the pandemic and be integrated as a strategy into a compre-
hensive community correction reform.
In this article, we explore the challenges and opportunities remote supervision poses
for community correction officers who seek to hold individuals accountable and build
meaningful relationships with their clients in online settings. Our main goal is to develop a
set of best practices based on the experiences of community correction officers working
with clients in online settings. In the next section, we begin by reviewing the existing
research focused on the impact of the pandemic on community correction settings. Next,
we will describe the goal of this study along with our methods and sample. Then, we will
describe our findings including the challenges, opportunities, and recommendations
provided by community correction officers to successfully implement remote supervision
as a core practice. We conclude by discussing the limitations of the study and future
research areas.
COVID-19: Triggering the use of remote contact
and videoconferencing
An emergent body of the literature has examined the use of videoconferencing and remote
technologies in community correctional settings. A common finding among these studies
is that COVID-19 led to an increased use of videoconferencing and remote technologies
by community correction agencies. The use of videoconferencing and remote supervision
98 European Journal of Probation 15(2)
To continue reading
Request your trial