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"Broken Windows" Probation: The Next Step in Fighting Crime

NCJ Number
179033
Date Published
1999
Length
10 pages
Annotation
After reviewing the problems that have hampered the effectiveness of probation, this paper proposes how probation agencies and practitioners can better meet the public's expectation of safety and positive outcomes for probationers.
Abstract
The paper was composed by a 13-member council (Reinventing Probation Council) of veteran probation practitioners. The Council acknowledges that critics of community corrections have long charged that probation has failed to promote public safety, enforce court orders, and get community-based criminals the drug treatment or other help they need to succeed in life and not resort to crime. Data indicate that this is all too often the case. This is largely because probation as a field has long been weakly funded, underresearched, and understaffed. The public wants probation to ensure public safety while giving the probationer the services and tools to behave responsibly. This paper proposes that probation officers nationwide embrace a new emerging paradigm that puts public safety and community involvement first. Successful probation reforms underway in Boston, Spokane, Phoenix, and in specific locales in Maryland and elsewhere are characterized by a heightened focus on achieving public safety goals through active partnerships with community and neighborhood groups. They are also characterized by the following key strategies: placing public safety first; working in the community; developing partners in the community; rationally allocating scarce resources; enforcing conditions and penalizing violations; emphasizing performance-based initiatives; and encouraging strong and steady leadership. In addition to discussing these elements of a reform paradigm, this paper also discusses hiring, job description, and training, as well as caseload, resources, technical support, and community involvement and support.