Short-term Effects of Probation Programs: An Evaluative Study

Abstract

Five specialised programs within one probation agency were evaluated in terms of their short-term effects upon offender clients. The programs were (1) a psychoeducational training course for drink-driving offenders; (2) a structured activity program for offenders with convictions for autocrime; (3) a probation Day Centre; (4) a cognitive training package; and (5) a groupwork program for women offenders. Evaluative material included (a) descriptive information on the aims and contents of programs; (b) criminological data on clients; (c) monitoring data on attendance and dropout rates; and (d) pre- and posttest performance on a range of knowledge, attitudinal, and skills-based measures. Clients on each program were compared with control samples in custody or on Community Service Orders in a quasi-experimental design. Results are interpreted in the light of meta-analytic reviews of offender treatment-outcome research.