--- title: Frequency of Contact description: "\tFrequency of Contact – The evidence is inconclusive\r\n\r\n\r\nSummary of the Evidence\r\n\r\n•\tThe evidence in support of the effect of the frequency of contact on recidivism is inconclusive.\r\n•\tContacts between officer and client are a vital part of evidence-based supervision.\r\n•\tThe risk principle calls for increased contacts for individuals who are at higher risk of recidivism.\r\n•\tIncreased contacts introduce more opportunities for intervention but also increase the level of surveillance on clients.\r\n•\tIncreasing surveillance through frequency of contact can increase the number of technical violations detected.\r\n\r\n\r\nWhat Is Frequency of Contact?\r\n•\tEvidence-based supervision calls for regular meetings between officer and client as a part of effective case management and supervision.\r\n•\tThese contacts can come in many types (see types of contact statement for more information) and can occur with varying frequency (i.e., weekly, monthly, quarterly).\r\n•\tThe risk principle within the RNR model calls for greater intervention for higher-risk clients and less intervention for low-risk clients.\r\n•\tMore frequent contacts with their client gives officers more opportunity to gather information about the client’s life, build trust, ensure compliance to supervision conditions, and conduct cognitive-behavioral interventions with them.\r\n\r\nHow Is It Used?\r\n•\tAgency policy typically decides the frequency of contact.\r\n•\tOfficers should use the results of a validated risk-needs assessment to determine how often they should regularly meet based on the level of risk and need of their client.\r\n•\tTypically, weekly contacts are recommended for the clients with the highest risk/need profiles.\r\no\tClients with high levels of non-criminogenic needs (i.e., housing, clothing, or food) may also require more frequent contact to assist in stabilizing their living situation.\r\n•\tThe standard frequency of contact for clients with moderate risk/need profiles is monthly.\r\no\tMany low-risk clients are placed on monthly contact at the outset to allow the officer to build rapport with them and ensure they start on the right track.\r\n•\tQuarterly contacts (once every three months) are typically reserved for low-risk clients who have established a track record of compliant behavior; these contacts are generally not face-to-face.\r\n\r\nHow Can It Be Used to Monitor Compliance?\r\n•\tIncreasing the number of regularly scheduled contacts between officer and client increases the surveillance on that client and the demand on the client’s time, which can create conflicts with other obligations. \r\n•\tIncreasing the frequency of contacts also increases an officer’s ability to check for a client’s compliance with supervision conditions.\r\n•\tFace-to-face contacts can be augmented by telephone contacts, Zoom calls, Facetime, etc.\r\n\r\nHow Can It Be Used as a Supervision Tool?\r\n•\tEvidence-based supervision calls for officers to use their regularly scheduled contact to build rapport and develop a strong working relationship with their clients.\r\n•\tOfficers use their contacts with clients to supervise their client through effective case management techniques.\r\n•\tIncreasing the frequency of contacts should not be done at the expense of the quality of those contacts. Contacts between officer and client should be marked by rapport-building techniques (i.e., respect, active listening, positive reinforcement).\r\n•\tIncreasing the frequency of contacts between officer and client can offer more ability for officers to be familiar with the client’s life and provide resources to assist the client.\r\n•\tIncreased number of contacts offers more ability for officers to detect troublesome behavior and intervene more quickly, potentially preventing criminal behavior or more serious supervision violations.\r\n•\tReducing the frequency of contact with clients can be used as an incentive for compliant behavior.\r\n\r\nWhat Are the Costs of Frequency of Contact?\r\n•\tThe cost of frequency of contact for supervision staff and clients is measured in time.\r\no\tOfficers who have increased contacts with clients have less time for other job duties.\r\no\tClients often manage busy schedules in order to comply with their supervision conditions. Increasing contacts with them occupies their time, including time away from employment, and makes managing their schedules more difficult.\r\n•\tMore frequency of contact increases a client’s transportation costs.\r\n\r\nWhat Do Supervision Staff Think?\r\n•\tSupervision staff report that weekly contacts are\r\no\tnever appropriate for all low-risk clients and\r\no\talways appropriate for all medium- to high-risk clients except those with serious mental illness or substance use disorder, for whom it is sometimes appropriate.\r\n•\tSupervision staff report that monthly contacts are\r\no\tsometimes appropriate for all low-risk clients and\r\no\talways appropriate for all medium- to high-risk clients, except those in the general violence or intimate partner violence special population, for whom they are sometimes appropriate.\r\n•\tSupervision staff report that quarterly contacts are\r\no\tsometimes appropriate for all low-risk clients and\r\no\tnever appropriate for all medium- to high-risk clients.\r\n\r\nWhat Should You Expect When Determining Frequency of Contact?\r\nClient Outcomes\r\n•\tThere is little empirical evidence that isolates the effect that the frequency of contact between officer and client can have on recidivism.\r\n•\tThere is some evidence that increasing the frequency of contact while offering rehabilitative services (i.e., substance use treatment, mental health services) can reduce recidivism.\r\n•\tIncreasing the frequency of contacts increases surveillance on the client, which has been shown to lead to more technical violations.\r\n\r\nIs Frequency of Contact an Evidence-Based Practice?\r\n•\tNo. The evidence in support of frequency of contact is inconclusive.\r\no\tThere are not evaluations that have isolated the effects of the varying frequencies of contact.\r\n\r\nWhat Do People Formerly Involved in the Criminal Legal System Think About Frequency of Contact?\r\n•\tPeople with lived experience in the criminal legal system report that weekly contact is\r\no\tnever appropriate for all low-risk clients and\r\no\tsometimes appropriate for all medium- to high-risk clients.\r\n•\tPeople with lived experience in the criminal legal system report that monthly contact is\r\no\tsometimes appropriate for all low-risk clients and\r\no\tsometimes appropriate for all medium- to high-risk clients\r\n•\tPeople with lived experience in the criminal legal system report that quarterly contact is\r\no\tsometimes appropriate for all low-risk clients and\r\no\tsometimes appropriate for all medium- to high-risk clients.\r\n\r\nCommunication That Strengthens the Officer-Client Relationship (Messaging)\r\n•\tOfficers should communicate with clients to specify the frequency of their regular contact. \r\n•\tOfficers should be transparent about the process of determining the frequency of regular contact.\r\n•\tWhen placing clients on weekly contact, officers should communicate how that level of contact will benefit their client during supervision.\r\n•\tWhen placing clients on weekly contact, officers should inform the client of the purpose of the frequency of contact—it’s not to catch the client doing something wrong.\r\n•\tThe frequency of contact should be framed in terms of benefiting the client.\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nSpecial Considerations When Using Frequency of Contact With Subpopulations\r\n\r\nGang-Involved\tGang-involved clients are often considered to be more dangerous and placed at a higher risk level per department guidelines. If a client is placed on a higher risk level than their risk assessment would normally prescribe, the officer should initiate a conversation about the reasons for this decision.\r\nGeneral Violence\tNone\r\nIntimate Partner Violence\tIPV clients are more likely to have less criminal history than other special populations (e.g., general violence). Thus, IPV clients may be placed at a lower risk level and prescribed less frequent contact. Officers should always prioritize the protection of the victim, increasing the frequency of contact with a client who is a danger to their partner.\r\nSerious Mental Illness\tClients with serious mental illnesses are more likely to have more complicated risk/needs profiles. Addressing these needs requires more intervention but officers should be wary of overwhelming their client by increasing the frequency of in-person contacts. Officers can use less time-intensive contacts (e.g., phone, Zoom, email) to stay up-to- date with their clients.\r\nSubstance Use Disorder\tSUD clients are often mandated to undertake treatment services. Because of this, officers should be hesitant in increasing the frequency of contact in order to not overwhelm their clients. Officers can monitor clients’ participation in programming through collateral contacts or use less time-intensive contacts (e.g., phone, email) instead of making them come into the office more frequently." url: "https://www.gmuace.org/appropriateness-statement-package/contacts/frequency-of-contact/" updated: "2023-06-07" category: Contacts tags: - Contacts - Working Alliance --- # Frequency of Contact ***Frequency of Contact – The evidence is inconclusive***   Summary of the Evidence - The evidence in support of the effect of the frequency of contact on recidivism is inconclusive. - Contacts between officer and client are a vital part of evidence-based supervision. - The risk principle calls for increased contacts for individuals who are at higher risk of recidivism. - Increased contacts introduce more opportunities for intervention but also increase the level of surveillance on clients. - Increasing surveillance through frequency of contact can increase the number of technical violations detected.   What Is Frequency of Contact? How Is It Used? How Can It Be Used to Monitor Compliance? How Can It Be Used as a Supervision Tool? What Are the Costs of Frequency of Contact? What Do Supervision Staff Think? What Should You Expect When Determining Frequency of Contact? Special Considerations When Using Frequency of Contact With Subpopulations   **Similar Topics** ## [Types of Contacts](https://www.gmuace.org/appropriateness-statement-package/contacts/types-of-contacts/) ## [Prosocial Modeling](https://www.gmuace.org/appropriateness-statement-package/motivation-techniques/prosocial-modeling/) ## [Section III: Building the Working Alliance](https://www.gmuace.org/appropriateness-statement-package/introduction/section-iii-building-the-working-alliance/)