Frequency of Contact

• Evidence-based supervision calls for regular meetings between officer and client as a part of effective case management and supervision.
• These 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).
• The risk principle within the RNR model calls for greater intervention for higher-risk clients and less intervention for low-risk clients.
• More 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.

• Agency policy typically decides the frequency of contact.
• Officers 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.
• Typically, weekly contacts are recommended for the clients with the highest risk/need profiles.
  • Clients 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.
• The standard frequency of contact for clients with moderate risk/need profiles is monthly.
  • Many 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.
• Quarterly 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.

• Increasing 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.
• Increasing the frequency of contacts also increases an officer’s ability to check for a client’s compliance with supervision conditions.
• Face-to-face contacts can be augmented by telephone contacts, Zoom calls, Facetime, etc.

• Evidence-based supervision calls for officers to use their regularly scheduled contact to build rapport and develop a strong working relationship with their clients.
• Officers use their contacts with clients to supervise their client through effective case management techniques.
• Increasing 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).
• Increasing 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.
• Increased 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.
• Reducing the frequency of contact with clients can be used as an incentive for compliant behavior.

• The cost of frequency of contact for supervision staff and clients is measured in time.
  • Officers who have increased contacts with clients have less time for other job duties.
  • Clients 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.
• More frequency of contact increases a client’s transportation costs.

• Supervision staff report that weekly contacts are
  • never appropriate for all low-risk clients and
  • always appropriate for all medium- to high-risk clients except those with serious mental illness or substance use disorder, for whom it is sometimes appropriate.
• Supervision staff report that monthly contacts are
  • sometimes appropriate for all low-risk clients and
  • always 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.
• Supervision staff report that quarterly contacts are
  • sometimes appropriate for all low-risk clients and
  • never appropriate for all medium- to high-risk clients.

Client Outcomes

• There is little empirical evidence that isolates the effect that the frequency of contact between officer and client can have on recidivism.
• There is some evidence that increasing the frequency of contact while offering rehabilitative services (i.e., substance use treatment, mental health services) can reduce recidivism.
• Increasing the frequency of contacts increases surveillance on the client, which has been shown to lead to more technical violations.

Is Frequency of Contact an Evidence-Based Practice?

• No. The evidence in support of frequency of contact is inconclusive.
  • There are not evaluations that have isolated the effects of the varying frequencies of contact.

What Do People Formerly Involved in the Criminal Legal System Think About Frequency of Contact?

• People with lived experience in the criminal legal system report that weekly contact is
  • never appropriate for all low-risk clients and
  • sometimes appropriate for all medium- to high-risk clients.
• People with lived experience in the criminal legal system report that monthly contact is
  • sometimes appropriate for all low-risk clients and
  • sometimes appropriate for all medium- to high-risk clients
• People with lived experience in the criminal legal system report that quarterly contact is
  • sometimes appropriate for all low-risk clients and
  • sometimes appropriate for all medium- to high-risk clients.

Communication That Strengthens the Officer-Client Relationship (Messaging)

• Officers should communicate with clients to specify the frequency of their regular contact.
• Officers should be transparent about the process of determining the frequency of regular contact.
• When placing clients on weekly contact, officers should communicate how that level of contact will benefit their client during supervision.
• When 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.
• The frequency of contact should be framed in terms of benefiting the client.