Overview: While much attention is paid to incarceration injustices, the majority (3.2M) in criminal justice are on probation; 1.27M on misdemeanor probation (MP). Despite devastating impacts, social work has not focused on MP. This study examines factors associated with MP failure, discussing implications for social work education, research, and practice.Proposal text: Background Social work opposes criminal justice system (CJS) rights violations, particularly regarding police (Moore et al., 2018), and incarceration/re-entry (Garrett, 2016; Pettus-Davis & Epperson, 2015).
However, the majority (3.2 million) in CJS are on probation, 1.27 million on misdemeanor probation (MP) (Kaeble & Alper, 2020; Maruschak & Minton, 2020). MP is often seen as “easy” sentencing; however, MP can be hugely destructive, with intrusive surveillance, employment disruption, punitive fines, and eventual incarceration. (Roberts, 2017). A social work/human rights lens has not been turned on MP and is essential to just MP processes and outcomes. To begin such work, we explored the factors associated with successful/failed MP outcomes.
Methods A MP office in a mid-sized Southern city provided data from 2016-2018 (Nf6660). Probationers were predominantly male (72.1%), 47.6% were white 40.9% Black, 9% Latinx. 75% had a high school education+, 45% employed, and average aged 29.6. Probationers averaged a year on MP, most frequently charged with violent offences (28.6%). On average, probationers were assessed $538.15 in fines and at closure 53.7% had unpaid fines. 71% were successfully closed cases, where probation officers determined the individual met conditions of probation (even with a few minor violations).
Multivariate logistic regression analysis was used to determine the effects of race, gender, education, employment, fines, first-offender status, age, days on probation, offense category, on the likelihood of success.
Results Logistic regression model was statistically significant (χ2(20)=648.84,p
Learning Objectives:
Discuss the importance for social work to turn its attention to misdemeanor probation, the myth of “easy probation,” and misdemeanor probation’s damaging and unjust impacts on individuals and communities from a human rights perspective;
Articulate the factors associated with failure and success is misdemeanor probation, and the implications of these findings for action in social work education, research, practice, advocacy, and policy
Infuse content on misdemeanor probation in their courses, defining how it can fit in social work classes across the micro and macro spectrum, and emphasizing the importance of the topic for social justice and human rights
