Technical Violations, Treatment and Punishment Responses, and Recidivism of Women on Probation and Parole

There is much debate about the effects of punitive or treatment responses to the many women who are on probation and parole. This article examines whether types of technical violations (drug or nondrug related) and responses to them (treatment or punishment oriented) as well as supervision intensity predict recidivism. Study participants are 385 women on probation or parole for a felony offense, and official records of violations and recidivism are the data source. Negative binomial regression analysis revealed that for high-risk women, treatment responses to nondrug violations are related to reductions in recidivism, whereas punitive responses to nondrug offenses are related to increased recidivism. For low-risk women, treatment responses to non-drug-related violations are related to increased recidivism and punitive responses to violations unrelated to drug use are related to decreased recidivism. Study findings suggest differential reactions to common supervision practices depending on a woman’s initial risk to recidivate.