Home Visits in Community Supervision: A Qualitative Analysis of Theme and Tone

• NCJ Number: 253482
• Journal: Criminal Justice and Behavior Volume: 44 Issue: 10 Dated: 2017 Pages: 1300-1316
• Author(s): Mary A. Fin; John P. Prevost; George S. Braucht; Shila Hawk; Tammy Meredith; Sharon Johnson
• Date Published: 2017
• Length: 17 pages
• Grant Number(s): 2013-IJ-CX- 0062
• Agencies: NIJ-Sponsored
• Publication Type: Research (Applied/Empirical)

Annotation

Since little is known about what occurs in community-supervision home visits, such as what is discussed and with whom, the current study addresses this void by qualitatively analyzing case notes of home visits with high-risk parolees who entered supervision in 2008, 2010, or 2012 and exited between 2011 and 2013.

Abstract

Officers' written comments describing 81,732 home visits were analyzed to uncover discussion themes, tones, and the parties contacted. Of the 12 themes identified, most conversations included parolee contact with the justice system, housing, and employment. Analysis of the tone of comments as neutral, positive, or negative suggested that nearly 9 out of 10 notes were neutral, containing simple descriptions of the parolee's behavior and status. Although home-visit interactions were primarily with parolees, parents/grandparents were the second most mentioned participants. Implications for supervision through the lens of therapeutic jurisprudence are discussed. (publisher abstract modified)