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Practice Guidelines for Community Supervision

Search Appropriateness Statement Package

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Introduction

  • Introduction
  • How to Use This Guide to Benefit Your Agency
  • Section I: How to Use the Appropriateness Statements to Develop Practice Guidelines
  • Appropriateness Statement Outline
  • Section II: Implementing Practice Guidelines
  • Section III: Building the Working Alliance
  • Section IV: Appropriateness Statements

Contacts

  • Contacts
  • Contacts: Implementation Considerations
  • Types of Contacts
  • Frequency of Contact

Compliance-Based Practices

  • Compliance-Based Practices
  • Overall Compliance-Based Practice Implementation Considerations
  • Collateral and Employer Contacts
  • Drug Testing
  • Electronic Monitoring
  • Financial Restrictions
  • House Arrest
  • Phone-Based Monitoring
  • Restraining Orders

Treatments

  • Treatments
  • Treatment Implementation Considerations
  • Anger Management
  • In-Patient & Out-Patient Treatment
  • Mental Health Screening and Evaluation
  • Substance Use Screening and Evaluation
  • Alcohol and Drug Use Education
  • Cognitive Behavioral Techniques

Motivation Techniques

  • Motivation Techniques
  • Motivational Techniques Implementation Considerations
  • Incentives
  • Prosocial Modeling
  • Sanctions

Additional Components

  • Additional Components
  • Additional Components Implementation Considerations
  • Environmental Restructuring
  • Transportation Resources

Additional Resources

  • Additional Resources
  • Additional Information on Practices
  • References

Glossary

  • Glossary
  • ACE!
  • Appropriateness Statement Package
  • Compliance-Based Practices

Phone-Based Monitoring

Phone-Based Monitoring – The evidence is promising

Summary of the Evidence

  • The evidence on phone-based monitoring on recidivism is promising.
  • Phone-based monitoring can include phones, text, emails, videoconference, etc.
  • Phone-based monitoring can be used as a replacement for or supplement to face-to-face contacts with an officer.
  • Phone-based monitoring can be used to support the positive change of a client and monitor compliance to supervision conditions.

 

What is Phone-Based Monitoring?

  • Phone-based monitoring occurs whenever an officer uses cell phone technology to carry out the objectives (rehabilitative or law enforcement) of supervision.
  • Phone-based monitoring can take many different forms.
    • Voice recognition telephone monitoring can be a replacement for monthly face-to-face meetings with officers.
    • Various smartphone functions can be (re)purposed for use in supervision, including:
      • text messages
      • GPS technology
      • applications (i.e., apps)

How Is It Used?

  • Voice recognition telephone monitoring
    • clients call in once a week (or some frequency) to an automated system
    • clients may complete a series of short interview questions once a month during the randomly selected call
    • typically reserved for low-risk clients
    • allows officer to reallocate their time and energy to higher risk clients per the risk principle
  • Smartphone technology
    • text messages
      • can be used for a variety of purposes, including sending reminders for appointments, giving a client access to their officer between visits, providing positive reinforcement, providing brief surveys, allowing check-ins between visits, and providing information (i.e., programs, jobs)
    • GPS technology
      • smartphone GPS can be used as a replacement for more intrusive and potentially stigmatizing versions of GPS technology (i.e., ankle bracelet)
      • can also be used to offer warnings to clients when they are getting close to areas that are triggers (environmental)
    • Applications
      • smartphone applications exist which provide support (i.e., self-help, mental health, substance abuse) for clients

How Can It Be Used to Monitor Compliance?

  • Phone calls between office visits can be used to ensure a client is following through with tasks/goals established during visits.
  • GPS tracking can monitor the geographic location of a client and alert the officer if the client leaves the prescribed area.
  • GPS technology can track a client’s everyday activities and alert officers of aberrations (e.g., not going to work, staying at home multiple days in a row).
  • Brief surveys embedded in text messages between face-to-face visits can alert the officer to concerning behavior and allow for early intervention.

How Can It Be Used as a Supervision Tool?

  • Text messaging can be positive reinforcement for achieving supervision milestones, promoting effective behavior change, and fostering a positive supervision climate.
  • Text messaging can remind clients of their appointments and other supervision responsibilities, cutting down on technical violations for nonattendance.
  • Information about job openings, programs that offer services, or self-improvement classes can be sent via phone.
  • An officer who contacts clients between office visits via phone shows they care about the success of the client.
  • Shifting a medium-risk client to low-risk by placing them on voice recognition telephone monitoring can be a reward for success on supervision.

What Are the Costs of Phone-Based Monitoring?

  • The main cost of phone-based monitoring for officers is their time and effort.
  • The costs of phone-based monitoring for clients is minimal.
    • Financial costs can include the cell phone and the charge for minutes or text messages. Usually, this is borne by the client, which can be a burden.

What Do Supervision Staff Think?

  • Supervision staff report that phone-based monitoring is
    • sometimes appropriate for all low-risk clients and
    • sometimes appropriate for all medium- to high-risk clients except for those with substance use disorders, for whom it is always appropriate.

 

What Should You Expect When Using Phone-Based Monitoring?

  • Phone-based monitoring strategies can be used to promote rehabilitation of the client and monitor their compliance with supervision conditions.
  • Phone-based monitoring can be used to build rapport between office visits by providing clients with positive reinforcement and resources that assist their success on supervision.
  • Some evidence exists that using phone-based monitoring as a replacement for a face-to-face meeting with low-risk clients can reduce recidivism.
  • Some limitations of using phone-based monitoring to replace regular office visits include
    • less opportunity to build rapport, address client needs, or become familiar with the client and
    • more challenge in tracking down noncompliant clients with whom the officer has less familiarity or depth of relationship.

 

Is Phone-Based Monitoring an Evidence-Based Practice?

  • The evidence supporting phone-based monitoring is limited but promising.

 

What Do People Formerly Involved in the Criminal Legal System Think About Phone Monitoring?

  • People with lived experience in the criminal legal system (the “criminal justice” or “legal” system is referred to as the criminal legal system in this document) report that phone-based monitoring is
    • never appropriate for all low-risk clients except those who are gang-involved or in the intimate partner violence special population, for whom it is sometimes appropriate, and
    • sometimes appropriate for all medium- to high-risk clients except those in the general violence special population, for whom it is never appropriate.

 

Communication That Strengthens the Officer-Client Relationship (Messaging)

  • Officers should use rapport-building techniques when communicating by text message with their client.
  • Officers should be aware of essential milestones in their client’s life (i.e., sobriety date, graduation) and recognize those accomplishments when they come.
  • When using a cell phone as a GPS monitoring tool, officers should discuss with the client the extent to which they will be monitored and remind them how this contributes to their long-term success.
  • Officers should communicate clearly when texting so that nothing gets lost in translation.

Special Considerations When Using Phone Monitoring with Subpopulations

Gang-Involved

Some departments automatically place gang-involved clients on at least medium-risk to increase supervision. These departments resist replacing face-to-face contacts with phone-based monitoring. There is no evidence supporting this practice.

General Violence

Some departments automatically place violent clients on at least medium-risk to increase supervision. These departments will resist replacing face-to-face contacts with phone-based monitoring. There is no evidence supporting this practice.

Intimate Partner Violence

Some departments automatically place IPV clients on at least medium-risk to increase supervision. These departments will resist replacing face-to-face contacts with phone-based monitoring. There is no evidence supporting this practice.

Serious Mental Illness

Some departments automatically place SMI clients on at least medium-risk in order to increase supervision. These departments will resist replacing face-to-face contacts with phone-based monitoring. There is no evidence supporting this practice.

Substance Use Disorder

None

 

Similar Topics

Overall Compliance-Based Practice Implementation Considerations

Collateral and Employer Contacts

Drug Testing

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House ArrestRestraining Orders

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