Clinical Interventions in Criminal Justice Settings

Evidence-Based Practice

George T. Patterson, Warren K. Graham

• Publisher: Academic Press
• Year: 2018
• ISBN:
  9780128113820
• Topic: Psychologie
• Subtopic: Forensische Psychologie

Clinical Interventions in Criminal Justice Settings balances theoretical frameworks and research methodology to examine the effective evidence-based practices and principles for populations within the criminal justice system. The book explores the major clinical issues that are relevant for adopting evidence-based practices and demonstrates how to implement them. Topics include legislation, law enforcement, courts, corrections, actuarial assessment instruments, treatment fidelity, diverse populations, mental illness, substance use and juvenile delinquency.

Clinical Interventions in Criminal Justice Settings models opportunities for evidence-based practice during entry into the criminal justice system (arrest), prosecution (court, pretrial release, jail, and prison), sentencing (community supervision, incarceration), and corrections (jail, prison, probation and parole).

• Addresses offenders in all four components of the criminal justice system—legislation, law enforcement, courts and corrections
• Covers the use of actuarial risk assessment instruments for clinical decision-making
• Includes tools that predict recidivism, levels of service needed, and future offending behavior
• Separates specific practices for juvenile and adult offenders
• Delves into specific special populations, such as those with HIV and AIDS, substance abuse, co-occurring disorders and homelessness

Chapter 1

Introduction to Evidence-Based Practices and Principles in the Criminal Justice System

George T. Patterson

Abstract

This introductory chapter provides an overview of the four components of the criminal justice system, the size and scope of criminal justice populations, population characteristics, the origins of evidence-based practice, the emergence of evidence-based practice in the criminal justice system, and our perspective on the use of evidence-based principles in the criminal justice system. This chapter also examines the role of public safety and public health in criminal justice settings.

Keywords

Evidence-based practice; Evidence-based principles; Public health; Public safety

Goals of the Book

The goals of the book are: (1) to provide a summary of evidence-based practices and principles that have been demonstrated to be effective for criminal justice populations; (2) to examine the major clinical issues that are relevant for adopting evidence-based practices and principles with criminal justice populations or within criminal justice settings; (3) to simplify an understanding of the need for evidence-based practices and principles in the criminal justice system, and support the present direction of its use; and (4) to provide clinical and nonclinical readers with easy to understand tools to evaluate and implement evidence-based practices and principles.

The Criminal Justice System

The Adult Criminal Justice System

The adult criminal justice system is comprised of four components; legislation, law enforcement, courts, and corrections. Each of these four components is comprised of subcomponents. Furthermore, each component and subcomponent has a specific function. Typically, individuals who are involved in the criminal justice system move from one component to the next. Individuals are processed by each component, of the criminal justice system, if applicable, which has a unique function. Each of these criminal justice components and subcomponents contributes to unique circumstances among offenders and former offenders due to the role of each component. These circumstances may affect the types of interventions criminal justice populations receive, as well as intervention outcomes.

In general, the legislative component is responsible for enacting laws that define offending behavior, as well as supporting interventions and a host of other societal laws. For instance, since the mid-1990s, the Washington State legislature has enacted and supported legislation that promotes the use evidence-based interventions in the adult criminal justice system and juvenile justice system (Aos, Mayfield, Miller, & Yen, 2006).

The law enforcement component enforces laws and provides a variety of service functions, many of which are in response to non-crime situations. In law enforcement settings, evidence-based practice takes the form of using data and empirical evidence to improve policing outcomes. Examples include reducing crime incidents or diverting individuals to appropriate resources.

The court component is comprised of numerous court structures such as civil courts, adult criminal courts, and specialty courts such as drug courts, mental health courts, and domestic violence courts, among others. These courts hear specific types of cases. Courts provide justice in response to a range of criminal, non-criminal, and social matters. Justice options can include punishment, treatment focused on rehabilitation, or a combination of these two options.

The corrections component includes institutional facilities, such as city or county jails, and State, Federal and private prisons, as well as community-based supervision settings including probation and parole. A former offender released from prison may be placed on parole supervision while living in the community. The former offender may be mandated to comply with parole conditions or face violations, which could result in a variety of sanctions including re-incarceration. These conditions may be drug testing or participating in a treatment program, for example. Conversely, a parolee may be released from prison without conditions.

Undeniably, the criminal justice system is comprised of complex organizations. These organizations operate on many levels including local, state, federal, and tribal levels. These organizations share many common features although differences are found due to legislative and regional differences. Among these differences are the types of interventions provided to offenders and former offenders. Criminal justice systems vary in the level of interventions offered, some of which are legislated whereas others are not. For example, some police departments hire police social workers to assist them with their services functions. This is not mandated among all law enforcement agencies. On the other hand, physical and mental health services are mandated among correctional facilities.

Evidence-based practices can be implemented in each of the four components of the criminal justice system and integrated with processing procedures. Several recommendations have been developed. Chandler, Fletcher, and Volkow (2009) identified the criminal justice stages of entry, prosecution, adjudication, sentencing, corrections, and reentry. These stages trace offenders’ movement through the criminal justice components from arrest, through court, to incarceration or community-supervision. Interventions include screening and referrals, or community-based services, drug courts, and drug treatment throughout the components of the criminal justice system. The authors identified law enforcement officers, judges, prosecutors, juries, probation officers, correctional officers, and community-based service providers, among others as criminal justice practitioners capable of implementing effective interventions.

Another model suggests that the criminal justice settings of law enforcement, courts, jails, prisons, and probation and parole can separately provide interventions ranging from screening and integrated services to mental health and substance abuse treatment, including drug courts. When individuals with mental illness receive empirically supported interventions in each component of the criminal justice system, it will reduce processing in subsequent components of the criminal justice system (Kennedy-Hendricks, Huskamp, Rutkow, & Barry, 2016). This model is also applicable for individuals without mental illness, since diversion approaches can result in clinical interventions and less criminal justice system involvement.

The Juvenile Justice System

The juvenile justice system mirrors the adult criminal justice system in terms of the four components previously identified. Commonly referred to as the juvenile justice system, the distinguishing features of the four components and subcomponents are based on the age of the youth, which varies according to jurisdiction. Another distinguishing feature is the legislative component, which mandates different processing procedures for youth and defines juvenile delinquency. The juvenile justice system is comprised of separate sentencing guidelines, court structures, juvenile secure and non-secure detention facilities, juvenile probation officers, and statutes that define delinquency and status offenses, which are age-related offenses.

Public Safety and Public Health

Perhaps the distinguishing feature of clinical interventions provided in criminal justice settings is the focus on public safety and public health issues. In clinical settings, public health concerns may be the only clinical focus, where criminal justice settings emphasize both public safety and public health concerns. Consequently, clinicians require an understanding of public safety issues. Some clinicians may be uncomfortable with the emphasis on public safety found in criminal justice settings. However, both public safety and public health affect criminal justice populations and the two issues must be addressed.

Public safety refers to protecting the public from victimization and preventing future crimes. Perhaps the most well known method for achieving public safety is incapacitation, which is the incarceration of offenders. However, public safety can also be achieved by providing evidence-based practices (Carter, Gibel, Giguere, & Stroker, 2007).

Public health and public safety risks are often increased due to the lack of evidence-based interventions, health care, and other needed services for offenders and former offenders (Patterson, 2013). Given the sizeable involvement of criminal justice populations in substance use and abuse, public health and public safety can be enhanced through providing interventions focused on substance use in the criminal justice system (Chandler et al., 2009).

Moreover, public health practitioners should recognize that public safety is a fundamental issue in the criminal justice system. Practitioners should engage in efforts to develop and implement additional public health initiatives in criminal justic...