Tennessee Criminal Justice Investment Task Force

Researchers have concluded that tailoring supervision conditions to an individual’s criminogenic needs and responsivity factors is critical to changing behavior and reducing reoffending. In Tennessee, statutorily, standard supervision conditions are imposed for all individuals. While the sentencing judge or the parole board may order special conditions, there is no statutory requirement to ground conditions with the results of the risk and needs assessment. As a result, inconsistent treatment requirements and gaps in services available across the state often lead to technical violations and revocations to prison.12 In 2016, in part seeking to address the growing number of technical violations, Tennessee enacted the Public Safety Act, establishing the use of a graduated sanctions matrix to respond to noncompliant behavior in a swift, certain, and proportional way. However, the data examined demonstrated that graduated sanctions are currently being used inconsistently across the state. Furthermore, the matrix establishes several zero tolerance policies that disproportionately affect individuals with substance use disorders. This zero tolerance conduct, which results in immediate revocation, includes refusing to submit to a drug screen, testing positive for methamphetamine, or testing positive multiple times for any other type of drug use.
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Improve efficiency and effectiveness of community supervision practices
Recommendation 13: Expand the use of swift, certain, and proportional sanctions Thirty-nine percent of admissions in FY2018, nearly 5,000 people, were incarcerated for violations of community supervision. Just over half of these admissions were for non-criminal conduct such as 31 | Page failure of a drug test or noncompliance with treatment program. Since 2010, the number of these revocations due to technical violations has increased by 53 percent. Research on behavior change has found that responding to violations with immediacy, certainty, and proportionality interrupts negative behavior more effectively than delayed, random, and severe sanctions.31 In 2017, after passage of the Public Safety Act, TDOC began to implement graduated sanctions to respond to technical violations, however, their use varies across the state. Opportunities exist to ensure Tennessee continues and expands its use of swift, certain, and proportional sanctions.
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Recommendation 14: Limit the period of incarceration resulting from a revocation for technical violations Nearly 5,000 individuals were admitted to prison in FY2018 for a violation of community supervision. Just over 50 percent of these admissions were for technical violations. Under current law, when a person’s supervision is revoked, he or she will serve the full remainder of their sentence in prison or jail. To effectively use swift, certain, and proportional responses, it is necessary to apply different approaches to individuals who engage in non-criminal behaviors while on supervision.