Swiftness and Certainty in Enforcing Probation Conditions: Hawaii''s H.O.P.E. Program

Prior research suggests that applying swift and certain sanctions can facilitate compliance with probation terms and reduce recidivism among probationers. In 2004, Hawaii's First Circuit created an experimental probation-modification program 'Hawaii's Opportunity Probation with Enforcement (H.O.P.E.). Preliminary data on H.O.P.E. show impressive improvements in probationer compliance and the Hawaii legislature has since supported the expansion of the program to 1000 additional probationers, about ¼ of the state's felony probation caseload. The project will (a) re-analyze existing data collected on H.O.P.E. probation to confirm whether reported outcome differentials between H.O.P.E. probationers and conventional probationers persist when appropriate statistical techniques are used to correct for differences between the two groups, (b) design and implement an experimental approach for future H.O.P.E.-evaluation efforts using current features of the program, (c)document the operating processes underlying H.O.P.E. probation for replication in other jurisdictions, (d) document the organizational processes that led to the inter-agency coordination that H.O.P.E. requires and to the decision to expand it; and (e)assess the program's fiscal impacts.
ca/ncf