Intensive Supervision and Surveillance Programmes for Young Offenders: The Evidence Base so Far

Source: (2004) In, Ros Burnett and Colin Roberts, eds., What Works in Probation and Youth Justice: Developing Evidence-Based Practice. Devon, UK and Portland, OR: Willan Publishing. Pp. 159-179.

ISSP, the latest in a long line of intensive community-based programs, was designed to include components that previous evaluations have found to be effective in reducing probationers’ reoffending. ISSP targets offenders ages 10-17. Unlike many previous intensive programs, it targets offenders both before and after custody. i.e., as a condition of bail supervision, as part of a community-based sentence, and as a condition of community supervision in the second half of a detention and training order (DTO). ISSP targets that small group of habitual and serious juvenile offenders. The program involves increased officer-probationer contact, home-confinement orders, curfews, random drug testing, restitution to victims, electronic monitoring, and offender fees for supervision. Features and objectives of ISSP include education and training, restorative justice, behavioral modification, the development of interpersonal skills, and family support. Key objectives of ISSP are a reduction in the rate of reoffending by at least 5 percent and a reduction in the seriousness of any reoffending. Evaluation findings show that ISSP holds promise for both reducing reoffending and incarceration rates by targeting high-risk juvenile offenders. Abstract courtesy of National Criminal Justice Reference Service, www.ncjrs.org.