THE SHOCK PROBATION STATUTE IN OHIO WAS ENACTED IN 1965. UNDER THE SHOCK PROBATION PROGRAM, CONVICTED OFFENDERS WHO HAVE BEEN SENTENCED TO PRISON CAN HAVE PART OF THEIR SENTENCE SUSPENDED BY THE SENTENCING JUDGE AND BE PLACED ON PROBATION. IT IS ASSUMED THAT INCARCERATION, FOLLOWED BY A PERIOD OF PROBATION, WILL SHOCK INDIVIDUALS INTO REALIZING THE DIFFICULTIES OF PRISON LIFE AND IMPRESS UPON THEM THE SERIOUSNESS OF THEIR OFFENSES WITHOUT HAVING TO RESORT TO LONG PRISON SENTENCES. TO EVALUATE THE PROGRAM, THE FOLLOWING RESEARCH AREAS WERE ADDRESSED: CHARACTERISTICS OF SUCCESSFUL SHOCK PROBATIONERS, COMPARISON OF SHOCK PROBATIONERS WITH REGULAR PROBATIONERS IN TERMS OF FAILURE RATES, COST-EFFECTIVENESS OF SHOCK PROBATION, STATUTORY TIME LIMITATIONS ON PROGRAM OPERATIONS, WHETHER STATE-SUPERVISED SHOCK PROBATIONERS PERFORM BETTER THAN THEIR COUNTERPARTS SUPERVISED AT THE LOCAL LEVEL, AND THE FACTORS RELATED TO JUDICIAL DECISIONS TO GRANT SHOCK PROBATION. INCLUDED IN THE RESEARCH SAMPLE WERE 244 SHOCK PROBATION APPLICANTS FROM 1975 IN A METROPOLITAN OHIO COUNTY FOR THE JUDICIAL DECISIONMAKING ASPECT OF THE STUDY, 1,508 SHOCK PROBATIONERS RELEASED IN 1975 FOR THE COST-EFFECTIVENESS AND STATUTORY COMPLIANCE ASPECTS OF THE STUDY, AND THREE SAMPLES (585 STATE-SUPERVISED AND 486 LOCALLY SUPERVISED SHOCK PROBATIONERS AND 983 STATE-SUPERVISED REGULAR PROBATIONERS) FOR THE OUTCOME ASPECT OF THE STUDY. WITH REGARD TO JUDICIAL DECISIONMAKING, THE STRONGEST VARIABLE IN TERMS OF EXPLANATORY POWER WAS PROBATION OFFICER RECOMMENDATION. INDIVIDUALS RECEIVING A FAVORABLE RECOMMENDATION WERE 125 PERCENT MORE LIKELY TO BE RELEASED ON SHOCK PROBATION. IT WAS DISCOVERED THAT 11.5 PERCENT OF ALL SHOCK PROBATIONERS RELEASED IN 1975 HAD SERVED SENTENCES OF MORE THAN 130 DAYS, A VIOLATION OF STATUTORY GUIDELINES. THE SHOCK PROBATION PROGRAM REPRESENTED AN ESTIMATED SAVINGS OF AT LEAST $3,725,839 OVER THE COSTS OF THE TWO BASIC ALTERNATIVE PROGRAMS. THE BEST PREDICTOR OF FAILURE (DEFINED AS REINCARCERATION IN AN OHIO PENAL INSTITUTION OVER A 2-YEAR PERIOD) OF SHOCK PROBATION WAS PRIOR CRIMINAL RECORD. TYPE OF SUPERVISION (STATE VERSUS LOCAL) HAD A STATISTICALLY SIGNIFICANT IMPACT. REGULAR PROBATIONERS HAD A 42-PERCENT LOWER PROBABILITY OF INCARCERATION THAN SHOCK PROBATIONERS DID OF REINCARCERATION. SUPPORTING DATA AND A BIBLIOGRAPHY ARE PROVIDED. THE DATA COLLECTION FORM AND INFORMATION ON LAWS AND CODES IN OHIO PERTAINING TO PROBATION ARE APPENDED. (AUTHOR'S ABSTRACT MODIFIED--DEP)