The probation officer program, however, has managed to survive past Martinson's "Nothing Works" doctrine. Cullen (2002) suggests that even today, when rehabilitation programs have been met with skepticism by some, "probation officers continue to broker or deliver services when they can" (p.255). In my personal experiences with probation officers, each has seemed to have a genuine interest and care for the delinquents with whom they deal. Each has been able to switch between compassionate and strict attitudes when advising and counseling offenders, taking on a sort of parent relationship with the offender. Furthermore, each has given his or her best effort into encouraging the offender to make positive choices, though many of the officers have expressed in private that they are often frustrated by the offenders' inabilities to make good choices. Just as Andrews (1995) suggests that current trends in the psychology of criminal conduct point to treatments that are able to predict criminal behavior (p.405), at least one of the probation officers whom I have known had such a relationship with her offenders that she met this guideline of effective treatment. The relationship maintained between the probation officer and offender also leads toward a prevention of criminal behavior, allowing this treatment to exceed the prevention guideline as well. Several aspects of the probation officer program...
For example, the probation officer program allows offenders to witness positive modeling (p.121), interact with their therapist or officer (p.122), and be pointed toward community services (p.125). Thus, in light of the reading, the probation officer program can be classified as highly effective. This is conditional, however, upon a truly ambitious officer and a good paring of characteristics between officer and offender (p.121).
References
Andrews, Don. (1995). The Psychology of Criminal Conduct and Effective Treatment.
In J. McGuire (Ed.), What Works: Reducing Reoffending -- Guidelines from Research and Practice. West Sussex, United Kingdom: John Wiley and Sons.
Cullen, Francis T. (2002). Rehabilitation and Treatment Programs. In James Q. Wilson and Joan Petersilla (Ed.), Crime: Public Policies for Crime Control. Oakland California: Institute for Contemporary Studies.
Cullen, Francis T. And Gendreau, Paul. Assessing Correctional Rehabilitation: Policy,
Practice, and Prospects. FURTHER CITATION NOT PROVIDED
Gendreau, Paul. (YEAR). The Principals of Effective Intervention With Offenders. In a.T. Harland (Ed.), Choosing Correctional Interventions That Work: Defining the Demand and Evaluation the Supply. Sage, CA: Newbury Park.
