Perceptions of Risk, Need, and Supervision Difficulty in the Community Corrections Setting

In the past few decades, shifts in client population and criticisms of ineffectiveness have prompted probation agencies to increase their use of objective case classification systems. Most correctional agencies utilize the same risk assessment instrument for both male and female offenders, and the assumption is that these tools perform an adequate job of assessing risks for both populations. However, research indicates that female offenders pose a much lower risk and have different need factors compared to their male counterparts. Despite the prevalence of risk assessment instruments in the community corrections setting, it is still unknown how gender influences risk and need. As such, the goal of the present study is to examine issues of risk and need in the classification and supervision of women in the community corrections setting. Furthermore, this study seeks to explore the difficulties that officers may encounter when supervising both male and female offenders in the community.