Does Probation Status Predict The Risk Of Re-Arrest Among Adolescents And Youth Felons In The United States Of America?
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Date
2018
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Public Health and Policy
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Doctor of Public Health
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This item is made available by Morgan State University for personal, educational, and research purposes in accordance with Title 17 of the U.S. Copyright Law. Other uses may require permission from the copyright owner.
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Abstract
American youth are arrested and re-arrested at the highest rates compared to any other industrialized nation in the world. Recidivism data estimates that about 72% of former inmates in the United States of America (U.S.A) will be re-arrested and charged with new offenses within three years of their release from prisons. Addressing recidivism is a major concern of the U.S. justice system. Strategies to reduce re-offending have ranged from harsher punishments to restorative justice; however, rates of recidivism have not abated. One commonly applied condition of detainee release by the U.S. justice system is community-supervised probation. However, little is known about how the different levels of probation impacts recidivism rates. Using data from the National Judicial Reporting Program, (1986), this study aimed to explore how two levels of probation supervisions; stringent/strict versus regular may be associated with recidivism among adolescents and youth felons, ages 16–29 years, released on community supervised probation. Results show that stringent/strict supervision was associated with 1.6 times (OR=1.64, 95% CI 1.38, 2.18) significant likelihood of felony re-arrest, adjusting for sex, race, marital status, age group, level of education, U.S. regions, re-arrest for crimes of violence, history of prior felony conviction, history of drug use, mental health treatment and length of probation in months. These findings suggest that strict supervision does not deter criminal behaviors of adolescent and youth felon probationers. Therefore, it may be necessary to engage adolescents and youth felons through programs that uplift their self-esteems and prepare them for responsibilities that come with adulthood. Furthermore, it would benefit both former inmates and society at large to have re-entry programs focusing on job training, education, and drug/mental health treatments carried out under less intrusive environments.