Michigan Swift and Sure Sanctions Probation Program FY 2022 Annual Report

SSSPP programs use immediate and increased jail sanctions to prevent further criminal activity and encourage compliance with probation terms. Jail is used frequently for program violations that can include positive alcohol or drug tests, missed appointments, or other acts of noncompliance. SSSPP’s success rate of 44 percent indicate that using SCF principles to change behavior can be effective on the criminal-justice-involved who are at moderate to high-risk of reoffending. However, the greatest reduction in recidivism rates occurs within three years of graduation. When evaluating graduates after three years of admission into a SSSPP, their recidivism rates were lower than the standard felony probationers who did not enter a program, and the statistics support a correlation between having the SSSPP program and a reduced recidivism. But when evaluating graduates after five years of admission into a SSSPP, though the rates are still favorable for program participants, there is no correlation.
A more in-depth analysis such as a multivariate study should be considered to better understand which program components of SSSPPs are having a positive effect on recidivism outcomes and which are not. Measuring different sanctioning behaviors among the courts and the different services they require participants to attend, can help design an improved SCF model toward reducing recidivism.