Eric J. Wodahl’s research while affiliated with University of Wyoming and other places

The current study examined the role of sanctions and incentives in improving community supervision outcomes, utilizing data collected from 300 individuals under probation supervision by the Denver Adult Probation Department. The research expanded the current literature by addressing two important existing gaps. First, we included supervision failure due to absconding as a unique dependent variable. Second, we controlled for client behavior to enhance our confidence in study findings. Findings revealed no evidence in support of the use of sanctions to improve supervision outcomes. Incentives, however, were associated with both an increased likelihood of supervision completion and a lower incidence of criminal offending. Study findings suggest a need to prioritize efforts to integrate incentive use into everyday supervision practices, as well as a need to increase funding to support the research and development of incentive programs to guide agencies in creating and sustaining programs that will have the greatest impact.

Research on perceptions of sanction severity reveals a gap between White and Black respondents in terms of their preferences for incarceration compared to alternative punishments. Little is known, however, about Latinx preferences. Using a sample of jail inmates, we explore differences across White, Black, and Latinx respondents in terms of their preferences for incarceration versus probation, as well as the factors that relate to these preferences. Findings show that White respondents prefer probation far more frequently than Black and Latinx respondents. Additionally, factors which relate to sanctioning preferences for Whites are fundamentally different than those for Black and Latinx adults.

Research has shown that high-quality relationships between individuals on probation/parole and their supervising officers can reduce recidivism and increase compliance. Although this relationship clearly matters, little attention has been given to understanding the factors that influence this relationship. Drawing on research in psychology and counseling, this study explores how both individual characteristics and supervision experiences affect the perceived quality of the supervision relationship. Results from the Serious and Violent Offender Reentry Initiative (SVORI) reveal that both individual characteristics—such as mental health and family support—and supervision experiences—such as the use of sanctions and incentives—exert significant effects on the supervision relationship. Yet, the effects of supervision experiences were substantially more robust than the individual characteristics. Findings suggest community supervision agencies should prioritize positive supervision experiences to build positive relationships between the returning person and supervising officer.

Poaching hotline programs are a common tactic employed by wildlife enforcement agencies across the country, but their effectiveness has received limited attention by the academic community. This study explores citizen willingness to report wildlife crime and the degree to which this willingness is influenced by hotline programmatic features, as well as individual characteristics and attitudes of the observer. Data come from online survey responses from adults living in the Western U.S. after their exposure to vignettes. Findings revealed an overwhelming willingness among respondents to report observed poaching behavior, and that this willingness was not dependent on receiving an economic reward. Multivariate analyses found that willingness to report was influenced by several factors, including the observer’s financial situation and his/her attitudes and values toward wildlife. Policy implications and directions for future research are discussed.

An increase in correctional treatment programming options coupled with prison population reduction legislation has driven a widespread transfer of supervision from prisons to community corrections. As a result, medium-to-high risk offenders with substance use needs are increasingly managed through community-based supervision programs such as intensive supervision probation (ISP). ISP programs frequently rely on different types of graduated sanctions to encourage program completion. To further develop research on how graduated sanctions should be applied in response to substance-use-related violations, this study examines whether enhanced treatment sanctions (a rehabilitative approach) and jail sanctions (a punitive approach) may differentially impact successful ISP completion. Using a sample of persons who committed a substance use violation while on ISP, results from multilevel models demonstrate that enhanced treatment sanctions are significantly associated with increased odds of successful ISP completion. On the other hand, jail is not significant, and enhanced treatment and jail do not interact to influence ISP program success. Due to the deleterious nature of the jail environment, findings call into question the utility of jail sanctions on ISP outcomes. Overall, enhanced treatment may be a preferable means through which to sanction probationers and parolees who commit substance-use-related violations while under community supervision.

The use of sanctions in community supervision has received considerable attention in recent years. Fueled in large part by the attention given to the swift, certain, and fair (SCF) sanctioning model, many agencies have adopted sanctioning programs, which often rely heavily on the use of short-term jail incarceration. In addition to jail, there exist a number of alternative, community-based punishments that can be utilized to respond to instances of noncompliance, including enhanced drug testing and community service hours. Little is known, however, about how individuals perceive community-based sanctions compared with jail. This study addresses this issue by examining perceptions of sanctions among individuals under community supervision. Survey findings indicate that community-based punishments are not viewed as being substantially less punitive than jail incarceration. In addition, perceptions of sanction severity are influenced by a variety of individual, experiential, and supervision-level factors. The policy implications of the study findings are discussed.

Prior work on the efficacy of incentives and sanctions in community supervision practices suggests both can encourage desistance during prison reentry. Yet limited scholarship has investigated how sanctions and incentives impact reentry together and most research in this area is cross-sectional. Using four waves of data from the Serious and Violent Offender Reentry Initiative, results of cross-lagged dynamic panel models reveal that certain incentives, namely supervision officer praise, relate to significantly lower levels of offending and substance use. Conversely, supervision sanctions and supervision officer reprimands relate to higher levels of offending and substance use over time. Overall, supervision practices that emphasize recognizing prosocial behavior over punishing noncompliance appear to hold greater promise for promoting successful reentry. Findings suggest that supervision agencies should consider the potential negative outcomes of sanctions during the reintegration process, and policies should be put into place that more closely consider the role of sanctions on behavior.

The use of incentives to promote offender compliance is becoming increasingly common in community supervision. Although evidence suggests that incentives can improve offender outcomes, little is known about how they can best be implemented to achieve desired results. Research in other fields demonstrates that incentive quality plays an important role in promoting behavioral change. Unfortunately, little is known about the perceived value of incentives utilized in probation and parole settings. The current study addresses this gap in the literature by examining the results of a survey administered to 200 adult probationers. Results indicated that earned compliance credits were rated most favorably, followed by a $50 fee waiver, reduced reporting requirements, and a$50 gift card. Recognition-based incentives received the weakest ratings. Multivariate analyses showed that individual level, as compared to offense- and supervision-level variables, had more consistent influences on perceptions of incentives.

This paper examines the economic, social, and cultural challenges American Indianⁱi. We recognize there are no universally accepted or accurate labels for the Indigenous Peoples of North America. Although individual tribal names are preferred, we have chosen to use the term American Indian or Native American to represent the collective population that is present within this study.View all notes inmates face as they reintegrate back into a rural, reservation community. Utilizing surveys, focus groups, and in-depth interviews with a variety of stakeholder groups, including community corrections, law enforcement, treatment providers, and tribal leaders, this research explores the reentry challenges faced by Native American returning offenders. Findings indicated that although similarities exist with other reentry populations, especially other minority groups, several unique challenges appear. The possible policy implications of these findings for the reentry process are also discussed.