Running Head REDUCING RECIDIVISM THROUGH SUPERVISIONS 1 .docx

Running Head: REDUCING RECIDIVISM THROUGH
SUPERVISIONS 1
Success Rates of Traditional and Intensive Supervisors in
Reducing Recidivism
John Doe
University Name
Sample Paper

SUPERVISIONS 2
Abstract
The purpose of this paper to suggest a research proposal
describing the succes rates of
traditional and intensive supervison on reducing recidivism. A
design plan was designed
suggesting the type of research method used, which is a mixed-
method research, and the
strenghts and weaknesses it may bring; the variables, the
independent(traditional and intensive)
and dependent(recidivism) variables included; the sample of
what is being studied, how it is
being chosen and how many people are needed for the research
to move forward; the statistical
analysis being used and a total of ten annotated references
summarizing each work and
suggesting its importance to the research.

SUPERVISIONS 3
Introduction
The topic of this research is recidivism and what approach has
been the most successful
in reducing it, there are two types of supervisions, traditional
and intensive, that are used in the
criminal justice system that need to be tested for success rate
and researched for understanding in
order to determine not only their worth, but their success rates
in the reduction of recidivism.
Recidivism is the tendency to relapse into a behavior or a
condition, such as criminal behavior

and the reason why this matter is important is because the cold
hard facts and numbers suggest
that “nearly 650,000 people are released from the nation’s
prisons every year, and about nine
million more are released from jails. Two-thirds of those who
come out of prison are rearrested
within three years of release” (Dory, 2009). More than half of
the people being released are
committing the same crimes that got them convicted in the first
place or are committing even
more dangerous crimes, like murder. The community can’t
afford these type of careless releases
because they will be the ones being victimized, their families
and friends will be the ones facing
the dangers of becoming another statistic in a murder crime.
The people being released are just
being thrown out into the community where they will not be
accepted and where they will not fit
in, unless they are helped and supervised accordingly.
There are two types of supervisions being used, traditional and
intensive, traditional
supervision consists of offenders under correctional control in
the community that are given

either the minimal or regular type of supervision, which means
they are required to report as
little if any to their correctional officers and intensive
supervision consists of offenders under
correctional control in the community to report constantly, the
requirements are more strict and
there are conditions that are placed on the offenders, such as
“victim restitution, community
service, employment, random urine and alcohol testing,
electronic monitoring, and payment of a
SUPERVISIONS 4
probation supervision fee. Intensive supervision programs vary
in terms of the number and type
of contacts per month, case load size, type of surveillance
conducted, and services offered”
(Probation and Parole: Supervision - Intensive Supervision,
n.d.). It is obvious that intensive
supervision programs are more strict, but are they more
successful and effective in reducing
recidivism.
The purpose of this research is to compare the success rates of

traditional supervision and
intensive supervision and see which one is more successful at
reducing recidivism because it is
not acceptable to have a correctional program that is not
“correcting”, determining which type of
supervision is working more successfully at reducing recidivism
is important because it could
help offenders find the right path and keep away from a life of
crime, it helps our communities
stay safer and it helps give the correctional system more
credibility and a method that works. The
research question is simple, which type of supervision,
traditional or intensive has been able to
have the most success in reducing recidivism? Traditional
supervision, is the simplest form of
supervision and has many holes, intensive supervision is in the
name, it is a type of supervision
that is intense because of the way it is organized and because of
the requirement of time and
effort that it takes from both the offender and the correctional
officer, but does it really work
better than the traditional style, or does it provide the same
success rate results.
Research Method

There are two types of supervisions being researched here,
traditional and intensive, both
of these methods are a type of probation and the only matter
separating them is the strictness,
seriousness and the amount of effort put into them. Intensive
supervision requires a strict
supervision program that requires the offender to report daily to
their correctional officer, and are
required to take on some conditions such as, getting and
keeping a job, a place to live, paying a
SUPERVISIONS 5
fee for their probation, electronic monitoring and constant
surveillance. Traditional supervision
is the simplest form of probation, where the offender reports on
a minimal basis and are
surveillanced little to no amount of time and are only required
to not get themselves thrown back
in prison. According to the research and based on the data
collection done from previous
research on the same subject, my prediction is that the success
rates of both traditional and

intensive supervision are practically the same when it comes to
reducing recidivism and that the
only difference both supervisions have, is that the intensive
program is more expensive and more
time consuming and even though, it may work on some
juveniles and drug abusers, overall it
provides the same success rate as the traditional style of
probation. In order to determine which
supervision, traditional or intensive has had the most success in
reducing recidivism, a mixed-
method research approach will be made where the quantitative
components included are the
collection of data that includes the number and percentage of
times the offenders that have gone
through the traditional and intensive programs have failed and
have committed a crime and have
been sent back to prison, and also the number of people sent to
each program and the success
rate each has had with keeping them from falling back into old
habits and a life of crime.
Questionnaires and surveys, from offenders who have been to
either the traditional or intensive
supervision programs and have not been able to stay away from
crime and those who have been

able to avoid it, will be handed out and collected and translated
into numerical values in order to
determine a percentage of success. Documents and records of
the number of offenders who have
been either in traditional or intensive probation and have not
been back in prison or jail, will be
collected and analyzed. This type of data will help determine
cold hard numbers and facts that
could be used to compare each different supervision and have a
visual data collection that will
help determine success rates. The qualitative components of this
research method will include
SUPERVISIONS 6
methods of data collections that contain in-depth interviews and
observations with people who
have been able to stay away from crime and also interviews
with those who have not, and ask
which program they were inserted in and if they feel the
program failed them and why. This type
of data will help to understand the experiences the offenders
had with the programs and will also

help with understanding the processes of traditional and
intensive supervision, and maybe then
the answers to why they succeeded or failed will be recognized.
Variables
The independent variable in this research are the two type of
supervisions, traditional and
intensive, these variables will be measured by considering the
amount of offenders sent to each
individual program, the type of crime they committed, their age,
race, gender and the
correctional officer given. These are factors that need to be
considered and determined when
trying to measure the success rate of each supervision in
reducing recidivism, because traditional
supervision is usually given to offenders who have committed
small crimes and are not seen as
huge of a threat therefore, do not need or require a high amount
of supervision and intensive
supervision is usually given as a substitute for prison to
offenders who have committed more
serious crimes and are sent to this type of probation because
they may be better off there than in
prison and sometimes they are even sent to this program to

avoid prison overcrowding. These
factors are constantly changing so the way these independent
variables will be measured is by
seeing how each program deals with these different factors and
circumstances and how they deal
with the same factors and circumstances and consider the
number and percentage of time each
have been able to keep their respective offender out committing
the same crime and getting send
back to jail or prison. This will also help determine whether it
is a financially smart idea to keep
funding and using the expensive intensive programs, if it is
doing equal numbers to the
SUPERVISIONS 7
traditional style of supervision. The dependent variable here is
the recidivism and its reduction
success rate, the way this variable would be measured is
dependent on the results of each
supervision but, the goal is to find which supervision is able to
provide the higher success rate
which means, the success rate of recidivism will be measured by

how low it is because the lower
the number, the higher the success rate because this will mean
that the supervision, whether it is
traditional or intensive, was able to keep the offenders away
from crime and was able to keep
offenders from falling back into old habits that resulted in
criminal behavior.
Sample
The sample and the focus of this research and study are
traditional supervision and
intensive supervision methods of probation and the offenders
who have participated in them
because the purpose is to compare the success they have been
able to bring to offenders and the
reduction of recidivism and determine which is better. In order
to make that determination, an
important part of the research requires to acquire data involving
the experiences offenders have
had with the supervision methods, so the sampling method that
will be used in this research is
systematic sampling, in which offenders that have participated
in traditional and intensive
supervision methods will be interviewed and the way they will
be chosen is by finding 50

offenders that have taken each individual program and
systematically choose 10 to 15 of them
and get their opinions and experiences on how the supervision
is and if it has helped them think
twice about their life of crime, this way not only is the
observation made and recorded, but
considering how costly it is to obtain quantitative data, reducing
the number of people being
interviewed to a smaller quantity will help obtain the necessary
data needed without having to
spend too much and the determination of whether traditional or
intensive supervision have
worked in reducing recidivism, will not be compromised.
SUPERVISIONS 8
Strengths and Weaknesses of Mixed-Method Research
The mixed-method research technique has its strengths and
weaknesses, its strengths
consists of:
[…] focusing on research questions that call for real-life
contextual understandings,

multi-level perspectives, and cultural influences; employing
rigorous quantitative
research assessing magnitude and frequency of constructs and
rigorous qualitative
research exploring the meaning and understanding of constructs;
utilizing multiple
methods (e.g., intervention trials and in-depth interviews);
intentionally integrating or
combining these methods to draw on the strengths of each; and
framing the investigation
within philosophical and theoretical positions. (The Nature and
Design of Mixed
Methods Research, n.d.)
Mixed-method research theory provides the researcher with the
opportunity to integrate a variety
of perspectives, in this case traditional and intensive
supervision. Mixed-method research also
involves the intentional collection of qualitative and
quantitative data and combining their
individual strengths in order to answer a research question.
Some of the weaknesses or issues
that may arise from using the mixed-method research technique
consists of sometimes having

problems with resources due to the multiple forms of data being
collected, the amount of time
required to carry out the steps involved may sometimes be too
vast and the resources may not
always be available. Another issue with mixed-method research
is that in “sequential designs
(i.e., one phase of qualitative research builds on the quantitative
phase or vice versa), the issues
relate to deciding what results from the first phase to use in the
follow-up phase, choosing
samples and estimating reasonable sample sizes for both phases,
and interpreting results from
both phases” (The Nature and Design of Mixed Methods
Research, n.d.). The data chosen for
SUPERVISIONS 9
this research also has its strengths and weaknesses, its strengths
consists of having a different
variety of variables that could affect the research and results of
the study because, different
variable such as, the type of crime the offender committed, their
age, race, gender and

correctional officer given are being considered as factors as to
why or why not a type of
supervision has succeeded or failed and interviews are being
done, so the opinions and
experiences are coming straight out of the subject’s mouth. One
weakness that this data may
have is that region or states are not being considered as a factor
that may or may not determine
whether traditional or intensive supervision have been
successful in reducing recidivism, there
are other factors such as, family history or previous financial
status that are not being considered,
that could be important factors. The data collected is selective
and only general factors are being
considered and measured in this study.
Statistical Analysis
The type of analysis that will be used to describe this research
will be descriptive
statistics by describing what the data collected shows about the
percentage or number of
offenders that participated in traditional and intensive
supervision and how successful those
programs were at reducing recidivism. “Descriptive Statistics
are used to present quantitative

descriptions in a manageable form. In a research study we may
have lots of measures. Or we
may measure a large number of people on any measure.
Descriptive statistics help us to simply
large amounts of data in a sensible way. Each descriptive
statistic reduces lots of data into a
simpler summary” (Descriptive Statistics, n.d.). Another type of
analysis that will be used in this
research is correlation analysis were the relationship between
the independent
variable(supervisions) and the dependent variable(recidivism)
will be measured and the value
that results will be checked for changes depending on whether
modifying either variable will
SUPERVISIONS 10
result in any change to the other variable, in this case, whether
modifying the supervisions will
result in a higher or lower recidivism. Considering this research
has two independent variables,
using regression analysis would be one of the most effective
ways in predicting the dependent

variable, because using regression analysis will help predict the
reduction of recidivism from
both traditional and intensive supervision.
Annotated References
1. Byrne, J. M., Lurigio, A. J., & Baird, C. (1989). The
Effectiveness of the New Intensive
Supervision Program. Research In Corrections, 21-27.
This article writes on the importance of conducting research on
a new improved way of
probation and with the addition of intensive supervision to the
mix an evaluation is being done
on whether the program is working in states that implemented
it, like Georgia and New Jersey.
The evidence collected shows that intensive program
probationers pose no more of a threat than
regular probationers. This article supports the idea that
intensive and traditional supervisions,
essentially put out the same success rate when it comes to
reducing recidivism.
2. Clark-Miller, J., & Stevens, K. D. (n.d.). Effective
Supervision Strategies: Do Frequent
Changes of Supervision Officers Affect Probationer Outcomes?
Federal Probation,

Volume 75 Number 3.
This article writes on the effect correctional officers, prior
criminal history and social history
have on the success or failure of an offender in completing
either the intensive or traditional
program, this article also highlights the fact that intensive
supervision is more likely to fail due to
its strictness, and the fact that the offender’s every move is
being monitored and recorded, there
every action, whether criminal or not is being more exposed.
This article supports the idea that
SUPERVISIONS 11
prior criminal, correctional officer given and social history do
have an effect on whether an
offender gains from the different types of supervisions and it
also supports the idea that,
eventhough intensive supervision is more strict and detailed, it
is also more likely to fail for
those same reasons.
3. Crews, M. D. (2001). Factors Affecting Recidivism Rates.

Retrieved from
http://www.dc.state.fl.us/pub/recidivism/2001/factors.html#Ccra
ce
This article highlights in the form of percentages and numbers
the effect different factors such as
age group, prior recidivism, gender, race, education and offense
type have on recidivism rates
and moet of this factors do have a major impact such as age and
offense type. This article
support the idea that recidivism rates are affected by age,
gender, race and offense type.
4. Gleicher, L., Manchak, S. M., & Cullen, F. T. (n.d.). Creating
a Supervision Tool Kit: How to
Improve Probation and Parole. Federal Probation, Volume 77
Number 1.
This article writes about the shift made from traditional
supervision to intensive supervision, due
to the poor results traditional supervision was giving. The idea
was that if offenders were heavily
supervised they would be more likey to deter from committing
crimes, but the experiment
seemed to have failed because eventhough survaillance
increased, recidivism success rate stayed
the same as the traditional method of supervision, there really

was no major change. This article
supports the importance of finding an alternative to traditional
supervision, but the suggested
intensive supervision did not do better or gave more positive
results when it came to reducing
recidivism.
SUPERVISIONS 12
5. Griffiths, C. T., Dandurand , Y., & Murdoch, D. (2007). The
Social Reintegration of Offenders
and Crime Prevention. Retrieved from
http://www.publicsafety.gc.ca/cnt/rsrcs/pblctns/scl-
rntgrtn/index-eng.aspx
This article writes on the difficulties offenders face when trying
to reintegrate themselves back
inot society and factors such as race, education and age are
being taken into consideration. It also
writes on what works for offenders to help reduce recidivism
and eventhough intensive programs
may fail with low-risk offenders they have been able to help
high-risk and young offenders more.

This article supports the idea that age is a determinant on
whether or not intensive supervision
works.
6. Kittle, R. (2014). Intensive Supervision Program Drastically
Reducing Repeat Crimes.
Retrieved from
http://www.wltx.com/story/news/local/2014/05/23/program-
crimes-
repeat-/9513671/
This article examines the affect intensive programs have on
youthful offenders, and the results
show that it does have a greater effect on them, so much that
recidivism in Columbia, South
Carolina has been reduced from 57 percent to 4.7 percent. The
only problem is that it is too
costly to successfully implement more of it. This article
supports the idea that age does make a
difference on how successful the intensive program is and that
it is a program that best fits
youthful offenders.
7. Mixed Effectiveness in Controlling Crime. (1993). Retrieved
from
http://www.gao.gov/products/PEMD-93-4

This article highlights a study made in Arizona where the result
show that intensive programs
have failed to reduce recidivism in all types of groups except
younger offenders. Intensive
http://www.publicsafety.gc.ca/cnt/rsrcs/pblctns/scl-
rntgrtn/index-eng.aspx
SUPERVISIONS 13
supervision in older offenders regardless of education, race or
gender, the program showed
higher percentages of arrest than the traditional supervision
style, and only succeding when
offenders were under the intensive program and failing when
they were out. This article is
important because it demonstrates and supports the idea that
intensive supervision may not be
worth implementing, other than on young offenders.
8. Probation and Parole: Supervision - Intensive Supervision.
(n.d., pgh. 1). Retrieved from
http://law.jrank.org/pages/1842/Probation-Parole-Supervision-
Intensive-supervision.html
This aricle highlights the failed attempt to make intensive
supervision a prison alternative,

because it has failed to reduce prison overcrowding like it was
expected to and it has proved to
not show any significant difference in reducing recidivism from
traditional supervision. This
article supports the idea that traditional and intensive
supervision both give out the same results
when it come to reducing recidivism.
9. Reilly, M. (2008). Study: Intensive parole supervision
reduces recidivism among violent
criminals. Retrieved from
http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2008/12/study_intensive_par
ole_supervi.html
This article highlights a four-year study done by Rutgers
University, that reads that intensive
supervision has helped to reduce high risk offenders’ recidivism
rate. This article supports the
idea that they type of crime committed does have an affect on
recidivism and on the success rate
of intensive programs.
10. Trotter, C. (n.d.). Reducing Recidivism Through Probation
Supervision: What We Know and
Don’t Know From Four Decades of Research. Federal
Probation, Volume 77 Number 2.

SUPERVISIONS 14
This article examines eight different research approaches to the
affect a correctional officer may
have on the success or failure of an offender may have in
completing a program, the results
proved that seven out of the eight researches done agreed that
the correctional officer may be the
one factor in determining whether recidivism is lowered or not.
This article is important because
it supports the idea that correctional officers play a role in
determining whether traditional or
intensive programs work.

SUPERVISIONS 15
References
Descriptive Statistics. (n.d.). Retrieved from
http://www.socialresearchmethods.net/kb/statdesc.php
Dory, C. (2009). Society Must Address Recidivism, Officials
Say. Retrieved from
https://news.usc.edu/30029/Society-Must-Address-Recidivism-
Officials-Say/
Probation and Parole: Supervision - Intensive Supervision.
(n.d.). Retrieved from
http://law.jrank.org/pages/1842/Probation-Parole-Supervision-
Intensive-supervision.html
The Nature and Design of Mixed Methods Research. (n.d.).
Retrieved from
http://obssr.od.nih.gov/scientific_areas/methodology/mixed_met

hods_research/section2.a
spx#What is mixed methods research

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