ABSTRACT
Over 6 million Americans are on probation or parole supervision, with another million adults under some type of diversion or specialised programming (Taxman et al. 2007). Probation is the most frequently ordered sentence in the United States, with the probation population increasing by 216 per cent from 1982 to 2007 (Pew Foundation 2009). During the recent period of accelerating growth, probation agencies have operated under a goal of monitoring the conditions of release or enforcing a standard of behaviour. Coupled with a spiralling population is the failure rate from probation, with nearly 42 per cent of the offenders failing to complete the period of supervision; this inability of an enforcement-driven probation model to deliver reduced crime and recidivism has led many to question whether probation should emphasise rehabilitation rather than enforcement as its main tenet. Recent attention has been given to the adoption of evidencebased practices (EBPs) that are designed to reduce recidivism, and therefore are better served to improve offender outcomes (Taxman 2002; Byrne 2009). However, to adopt EBPs, probation agencies must confront the often conflicting organisational goals of deterrence (meaning here enforcement through the use of punitive practices and an emphasis on controls such as drug testing, curfews and liberty restrictions) and rehabilitation (meaning here offender change such as involvement in treatment, employment and/or education, programmes and services) that affect the priority placed on different components of the supervision process.
