Newsroom
Assessing the Use and Impact of Points and Rewards across Four Federal Probation Districts: A Contingency Management Approach
Discussing the value of SCF incentives in probation.
Responding to Substance-Use-Related Probation and Parole Violations: Are Enhanced Treatment Sanctions Preferable to Jail Sanctions?
Examining the evidence in SCF programs.
Effective Court Responses to Persons with Substance Use Disorder: Components of a Model Curriculum for Evidence-based Judicial Decision Making
Considering SCF sanctions and rewards targeted to a person’s ability to comply.
Which Prisoner Reentry Programs Work? Replicating and Extending Analyses of Three RCTs
Reevaluating an SCF probation experiment.
The California Prison and Parole Law Handbook. Chapter 11: Parole and Post-Release Community Supervision
Guidance on SCF in California parole.
California AB-597: Probation and mandatory supervision: Flash incarceration
Arguments for and against SCF sanctions in California probation.
Criminal Justice in the 21st Century: Improving Incarceration Policies and Practices in Allegheny County (PA)
One county’s attempt at reducing incarceration and improving outcomes, including using SCF in probation.
Juvenile Risk Assessment: Assessing the Evaluability and Predictive Validity of the Youth Assessment and Screening Instrument for use among the North Dakota Juvenile Probation Population
Don’t assume replicability of programs without research (HOPE an example).
Probation and parole violations—often for technical offenses—are filling OK DOC, and it’s time to do something about it
Oklahoma eschews proposed bills aimed at probation and parole, including SCF.
A Presidential Roadmap to Ending Mass Incarceration: Invest in People, not Prisons
Proposing sweeping reforms to parole and probation, including SCF sanctions.
Assessing Campus Alcohol Policies: Measuring Accessibility, Clarity, and Effectiveness
Recommending SCF for alcohol-involved college students.
Commentary on Bainbridge (2019): Improving the Evidence Base for 24/7 Sobriety
Encouraging an RCT for 24/7 Sobriety SCF program for alcohol offenders in the UK.
Using Certainty and Celerity to Deter Crime
A look at South Dakota’s 24/7 Sobriety SCF program for alcohol offenders.
The Future of Crime and Punishment: Smart Policies for Reducing Crime and Saving Money
SCF in juvenile justice.
Criminal Thinking as a Moderator of the Perceived Certainty-Offending Relationship: Age Variations
The concept of “certainty” may require understanding not yet attained by adolescents.
Free Will Skepticism, General Deterrence, and the “Use” Objection
Considers what constitutes successful deterrent punishment.
Set Up to Fail? Examining Australia’s Approach to Parole Compliance Through a Therapeutic Jurisprudence Lens
Fairness in SCF as a form of treatment.
Repairing justice: The prosecutor (podcast)
Examining the possible motivations of sentencing and second chances.
Penal Policy and the Lessons of Recent Experience
Developing policy with the belief that criminal behavior is like any other human behavior.
Charlotte Co. (FL) to introduce alternative sanctions
Alternative sanctions to avoid the life disruption that comes with incarceration.
Presque Isle Co. (MI) seeks to renew probation program grant
A judge proposes continuation of SCF program.
Brooklyn (NY) DA on gun-offender diversion program
SCF for young offenders with gun-possession charges.
7 steps to restore Seattle (WA) safety and civility
Recommending SCF for Seattle.
AK senators smart to think deeper about SB 91 repeal
A look at the logic of SCF.
Justice Reinvestment in Wyoming
A report on new policies aimed at reducing revocations and crime while saving money.
Probation, parole reforms considered in Pennsylvania
Addressing technical violations with SCF and limiting carceral sanctions.
To safely cut incarceration, states rethink responses to supervision violations
35 states develop policies, including SCF, to reduce recidivism and revocations.
SCF in the UK
Three articles examining SCF and how, or if, it works in the UK.
New probation program kicks off in Summit Co. (OH)
A behavioral response model based on SCF launches in Ohio.
Remembering Mark Kleiman
Mark Kleiman, a scholar and longtime advocate for justice reform, who coined the term “Swift, Certain, and Fair” as an approach to community supervision, died in July. Mark was a friend of the SCF Resource Center; his work is referenced in every newsletter and is too broad to fairly summarize here. A few especially thoughtful remarks are at the linked page.
What Works in Corrections? A Review of the Evaluation Literature
A review that includes several SCF programs.
Can Electronic Monitoring Reduce Reoffending?
A proposal for SCF principles in conjunction with electronic monitoring for community supervision.
Massachusetts Sentencing Commission Advisory Sentencing Guidelines [published April 26, 2019]
Sentencing guidelines to include SCF.
Charged: The New Movement to Transform American Prosecution and End Mass Incarceration
A new book on prosecutors relates the origins of HOPE.