This is the 1st of a 7 part series on The Risk Principle Simplified.  Subscribe to our blog and get the series delivered right to your inbox.

The Risk Principle Simplified

Risk: The possibility of an adverse event.

“Risk” is a central theme in community corrections. In fact, I’ll bet that the first four concepts you learned when you entered the community corrections field were something like this:

• Assessment of criminogenic risk is vital
• An objective risk assessment should be utilized
• Intervention intensity should match risk level
• Over-treating low risk clients can make them worse
  

If you entered this field due to your desire to provide treatment to offenders, you may have grown tired of the emphasis on risk with this population. As a clinical psychologist who has dedicated his life to developing and implementing offender treatment programs, I understand your frustration. It can be difficult to focus on treatment in a corrections setting that emphasizes actuarial risk more than individual potential. However, risk is not just an academic concept, and the focus on risk is not ancillary to the treatment goals of community corrections. In fact, the purpose of community corrections revolves entirely around risk. 

This is the 12th of a 12 part series on Evidence Based Principles.  Subscribe to our blog and get the upcoming Risk Principle Simplified series delivered right to your inbox.

Principle 8: Provide Measurement Feedback

The needle on my gas gauge provides feedback. So does my bank account statement. My teenage daughters’ eye rolls are feedback. When my mother states, “I miss your phone calls,” she is providing feedback. The scoreboard provides a variety of valuable feedback, as does the speeding ticket for driving 84 in a 45. The reminder on my iPhone is designed solely for the purpose of feedback. Feedback surrounds us, but sometimes when we need feedback the most, we cannot find it.

This is the 11th of a 12 part series on Evidence Based Principles.  Subscribe to our blog and get this series and the upcoming Risk Principle Simplified series delivered right to your inbox.

Principle 7: Measure Relevant Processes/Practices

Last year in a Wall Street Journal article, Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates discussed some of the most important lessons learned in his work with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation in developing countries. He explained, “In the past year, I have been struck by how important measurement is to improving the human condition. You can achieve incredible progress if you set a clear goal and find a measure that will drive progress toward that goal.”

I know of no industry with such hard working, patient people as community corrections. This relatively small, but growing, community is full of people that still believe they can save the world like Mr. Gates. Work ethic and heart keep offenders on the right track, bring families back together, assist mentally ill offenders with the management of their medications and enhance public safety daily. That is the good news. The bad news is that we do not do an adequate job of measuring. The worse news: In some cases, the measurements actually exist, but it is nobody’s job to compile and interpret the data.

This is the 10th of a 12 part series on Evidence Based Principles.  Subscribe to our blog and get this series and the upcoming Risk Principle Simplified series delivered right to your inbox.

Principle 6: Engage On-Going Support in Natural Communities

To paraphrase a proverb, “It takes a community to transition an offender.” As a community corrections agent, you will work diligently to replace the antisocial influences with a more prosocial network of friends, colleagues and associates.  You discuss at length the importance of the environment and having good role models.  While the client is in your care, you will support, provide empathy, give advice, inspire and prepare the client for their new lifestyle after supervision.  It will take an army of people to replace the roles that you play.  Literally.  The army is the community.  It is pastors and employers, mothers and coaches, colleagues and therapists.  The work you do cannot be replaced by one or even two people. 

This is the 9th of a 12 part series on Evidence Based Principles.  Subscribe to our blog and get this series and the upcoming Risk Principle Simplified series delivered right to your inbox.

Principle 5b: Increase Positive Reinforcement

Think about the last dog you trained. Opting for praise and treats was not a challenge. Everyone knows that positive reinforcement should outweigh punishment when attempting to train a new behavior. Somehow, it seems we forget this lesson when it comes to people.

Perhaps we expect more out of people than dogs. Maybe it is the years of “tough on crime” mentality. Is it possible that we are hard wired to think of punishment before praise? While diligence is required, it is certainly possible to transform an environment focused on punishment to one centered on “catching them being good.”

Offender treatment research indicates that at a minimum, clients should receive at least four positive reinforcements for each punishment. Some family and marital research indicates that this ratio holds true for parenting and spousal relationships.