Staff Training Aimed at Reducing Rearrest: Probation officer attitudes and experiences
| Author | Lucas M Alward,DeCarlos L Sheppard,Jill Viglione |
| DOI | 10.1177/2066220320976101 |
| Published date | 01 December 2020 |
| Date | 01 December 2020 |
| Subject Matter | Original Articles |
https://doi.org/10.1177/2066220320976101
European Journal of Probation
2020, Vol. 12(3) 238 –264
© The Author(s) 2020
Article reuse guidelines:
sagepub.com/journals-permissions
DOI: 10.1177/2066220320976101
journals.sagepub.com/home/ejp
Staff Training Aimed at
Reducing Rearrest:
Probation officer attitudes
and experiences
Jill Viglione and Lucas M Alward
University of Central Florida, USA
DeCarlos L Sheppard
Middle District of Florida, USA
Abstract
Community correction organisations have recognised the importance of implementing
evidence-based practices to improve probation practice and reduce recidivism rates.
Research finds when probation agencies implement evidence-based practices in line with
the Risk, Need, Responsivity model with fidelity, reductions in recidivism are possible.
However, challenges of implementation persist. To assist in the translation of evidence-
based practices to real-world practice, researchers and practitioners developed
community supervision officer training programmes. Using qualitative interview data
of trained federal probation officers, this study examined the implementation of the
Staff Training Aimed at Reducing Rearrest. This study explored (1) probation officer
attitudes and perceptions of Staff Training Aimed at Reducing Rearrest, training and
implementation process; (2) how users and coaches implement key components of
Staff Training Aimed at Reducing Rearrest; and (3) the organisational facilitators and
barriers associated with Staff Training Aimed at Reducing Rearrest implementation.
Findings suggest positive attitudes towards Staff Training Aimed at Reducing Rearrest
for improving supervision process and highlight key facilitators and barriers that can be
addressed to support successful implementation efforts.
Keywords
Community corrections, core correctional practices, probation, Staff Training Aimed
at Reducing Recidivism, training programme
Corresponding author:
Jill Viglione, Department of Criminal Justice, University of Central Florida, 12805 Pegasus Drive, HPA 1,
Room 330A, Orlando, FL 32816, USA.
Email: jill.viglione@ucf.edu
976101EJP0010.1177/2066220320976101European Journal of ProbationViglione et al.
2020
Original Article
Viglione et al. 239
At their inception, community corrections agencies were designed to encourage and sup-
port reform (Petersilia, 1997). However, during its expansion and development in US
responses to crime, it became a system largely devoted to surveillance and crime-control
techniques (Feeley and Simon, 1992; Garland, 2001; Taxman, 2002). Over the last few
decades, growing empirical support regarding the ineffectiveness of control-oriented
supervision for reducing crime (Bonta et al., 2008; Drake, 2011; Nagin et al., 2009) has
led to a resurgence of rehabilitation as a viable correctional strategy (Cullen and Gilbert,
1982; Cullen and Jonson, 2011). Along with the movement towards its original goals of
reform, there has been significant emphasis on the use of evidence-based practices
(EBPs) or ‘best practices’ directly proven to reduce recidivism and improve outcomes
(Sherman, 1998).
The emphasis on EBPs led researchers and community corrections agencies to work
towards implementing EBPs and aim to change individual behaviour to promote positive
supervision outcomes (Andrews et al., 1990; Gendreau, 1996; Gendreau et al., 1996). In
particular, the Risk–Need–Responsivity (RNR) model emerged as a prominent frame-
work to guide supervision and delivery of effective correctional interventions (Andrews
et al., 1990). The RNR model consists of three principles – the risk, need and responsiv-
ity principles as a means to generate effective interventions for offender populations
(Bonta and Andrews, 2017). Despite empirical support for the RNR framework (Andrews
and Dowden, 2006; Andrews et al., 1990; Bonta and Andrews, 2007; Lipsey et al., 2007;
Lowenkamp et al., 2006), research documents the challenge of implementing these best
practices in the traditionally authoritarian environment of community supervision (Bonta
et al., 2008; Miller and Maloney, 2013; Viglione, 2017, 2019; Viglione et al., 2015). As
a means to address these implementation challenges, researchers and practitioners devel-
oped correctional training programmes designed to translate best practices and RNR
principles into routine practice. These training programmes represent multifaceted edu-
cation and skill-building tools developed specifically for supporting change and imple-
mentation of best practices in community supervision agencies. However, little is known
regarding both the perception’s probation officers (POs) hold of these training pro-
grammes and how POs make decisions regarding use of skills learned through the train-
ing. Given the documented challenge of change in these settings, understanding the
attitudes of the individuals being asked to implement the policies on the front line is criti-
cal to advancing knowledge on how to best support implementation and improve prac-
tice. The current study aimed to fill this gap in the literature through an exploration of
attitudes and perceptions of POs towards the Staff Training Aimed at Reducing Rearrest
(STARR) training programme, training experiences and implementation process; an
examination of the conditions under which POs implement the key components of
STARR; and identification of the facilitators and barriers associated with STARR
implementation.
Principles of effective intervention
The current emphasis on EBPs in corrections shifted the goals of probation supervision
from a focus on compliance and law enforcement to a more therapeutic approach address-
ing proactive behaviour change (Bonta et al., 2008; Bourgon et al., 2012). This shift in
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