Sex Offender Supervision Communication, Training, and Mutual Respect Are Necessary for Effective Collaboration Between Probation Officers and Therapists

• NCJ Number: 253342
• Author(s): Nicholas P. Newstrom; Michael Miner; Chris Hoefer; R. K. Hanson; Beatrice E. Robinson
• Date Published: 2018
• Length: 8 pages
• Grant Number(s): 2013-AW-BX-0153
• Agencies: NIJ-Sponsored
• Publication Type: Research (Applied/Empirical); Report (Study/Research); Report (Grant Sponsored); Program/Project Description

Annotation

Since contemporary sex offender supervision models focus on collaboration between probation officers and therapists to prevent recidivism, this article reports on an exploratory study that used focus groups to examine the working relationships between probation officers and therapists from two large U.S. urban probation departments.

Abstract

The study found that overall, both probation officers and therapists were positive about their working relationships; they valued each other's roles and agreed that regular, accurate, and timely communication occurred frequently. Not all relationships, however, were effective. Several probation officers and therapists expressed dissatisfaction with poor communication, conflicts between the goals of therapy and probation, a lack of resources, and deficits in the policies they needed to adequately implement components of their supervision model (the containment model). The findings suggest ways to structure sexual offender supervision that integrate the distinctive orientations of probation officers and therapists into a collaboration that promotes public safety and works well for all. (publisher abstract modified)