Advancing Corrections Journal - Edition #7 - Giving Focus to Community Corrections (ACJ7-A005)

Article 5: Innovations In A Model For Enhancing The Behavior Change Content Of Supervision (ACJ7-A005)

Abstract

Routine supervision in the community represents a substantial opportunity to intervene with offenders and promote behavior change at the population level. In recent years Corrective Services New South Wales (NSW) has made a number of innovations to the community supervision model to enhance the behavior change focus and content of sessions between supervising officers and offenders. This has included introduction of the Practice Guide for Intervention (PGI), a series of structured exercises and activities that can be used in sessions to addr ess offenders’ criminogenic needs.The aim of this paper is to provide an overview of the PGI model as implemented by Corrective Services NSW. This paper also reports on the results of a number of studies evaluating components of the PGI, including system-wide uptake and ongoing delivery of the model; officers’ perceptions of supervisory principles in the community; offender engagement in behavior change content; and implications for intervention dosage among the target offender population.

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Authors

Dr. Mark Howard

Manager of Operational Performance and Research, Corrections Research Evaluation and Statistics (CRES) Branch of Corrective Services NSW, Australia

Dr. Mark Howard is a forensic psychologist by trade with several years’ experience in the local criminal justice system, providing psychological assessments and expert evidence for the NSW Courts. He received his PhD at the University of NSW in 2013, focusing on cognitive inhibitory responses to potentially traumatic events. He is currently Manager of Operational Performance and Research at the Corrections Research Evaluation and Statistics (CRES) branch of Corrective Services NSW. In collaboration with a team of researchers and external partners Dr Howard is currently engaged in a number of research projects, with interests in violence within prisons, sexual offending, mechanisms of change in offender treatment, and program evaluation.

Chee Seng Chong

Senior Research Analyst, Corrective Services NSW, Australia

Chee Seng Chong is an experienced researcher with a background of study in fields of behavioural and cognitive sciences in both academic and public service sectors. He is currently completing his PhD at the University of Western Sydney, which examines how facial expressions of emotions play a role in how we produce vocal expressions. He has contributed expertise in experimental and quasiexperimental methodologies to a range of studies and has produced several research articles. He is currently employed as a Senior Research Analyst with Corrections Research Evaluation and Statistics (CRES) in Corrective Services NSW, where he manages a range of projects evaluating major reforms within the NSW criminal justice system.

Ofir Thaler

Research Analyst, Corrections Research Evaluation and Statistics (CRES) Branch of Corrective Services NSW, Australia

Ofir Thaler is a social researcher with years of experience in evaluation of support programs and services. He received a Bachelor of Social Sciences from the University of Sydney in 2009, and has worked in social research and evaluation, developing an expertise in qualitative methods, both in government and in the private sector. He is currently a Research Analyst at the Corrections Research Evaluation and Statistics (CRES) branch of Corrective Services NSW. His recent work as part of the CRES team has been focused on the implementation and impact of important reforms at Corrective Services NSW, with particular interests in reintegration programs and social dynamics in different custodial settings.

Dr. Nhat Le Tran

Research Analyst, NSW Department of Justice, Australia

Dr. Nhat Le Tran is an experienced social scientist, educator and psychologist who has worked across the university, private and public sectors and had several years of first-hand experience conducting research in behavioural and social sciences. Dr. Tran received her PhD in Social Science and Policy at the University of NSW Australia in 2011 with a focus on immigration policy and acculturation psychology. Prior to her current role as a Research Analyst at the NSW Department of Justice, Dr. Tran was a lecturer at the Department of Education and Psychology, Hue University, Vietnam; and the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, University of NSW Australia. In her current role, Dr. Tran works with a multidisciplinary team focusing on research and evaluation of large-scale government programs in criminal justice. Her research interests span widely from research methods, acculturation psychology, cognitive science to Indigenous and criminal justice.

Advancing Corrections Journal - Edition #7 - Giving Focus to Community Corrections (ACJ7-A005)

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