Philosophies in Community Supervision of Gang-Involved Youth and Adults

• Published date: 01 July 2024
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1177/00938548241238341
• Author: Miltonette Olivia Craig,Meagan Zurn,Debi Elliott,Jenn Roark
• Date: 01 July 2024
• Subject Matter: Articles

CRIMINAL JUSTICE AND BEHAVIOR, 2024, Vol. 51, No. 7, July 2024, 1090 –1111.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/00938548241238341

Article reuse guidelines: sagepub.com/journals-permissions

© 2024 International Association for Correctional and Forensic Psychology

1090

PHILOSOPHIES IN COMMUNITY SUPERVISION

OF GANG-INVOLVED YOUTH AND ADULTS

MILTONETTE OLIVIA CRAIG

Sam Houston State University

MEAGAN ZURN

DEBI ELLIOTT

JENN ROARK

Multnomah County Department of Community Justice

The wide expansion of community supervision has resulted in large-scale reliance on probation officers to facilitate change

among both youth and adults. This is especially true for supervising high-risk populations, such as gang-involved individuals.

To understand how probation officers balance the dual goals of public safety and rehabilitation, in-depth interviews with 12

youth and adult officers in Oregon were conducted. Results revealed that both groups had a shared understanding of gang

pathways and desistance barriers. However, they held differing views on the factors that drive success and compliance. Youth

officers utilize therapeutic philosophies and emphasize restoration through community resources to help youth desist from

gang activity. Adult officers endorse law enforcement philosophies, emphasize accountability and personal choices, and

center punitive strategies when using interagency collaboration. This study contributes to the literature on role perceptions

and decision-making, and suggests that continuity of care in supervision philosophies can yield more successful outcomes

for high-risk youth and adults.

Keywords: probation officers; youth; gangs; community supervision

Youth and adult probation officers are integral to the criminal legal system and public

safety efforts throughout the United States. Although much of the existing corrections

literature focuses on the 1.7 million incarcerated people in the United States, the most com-

monly used sentencing outcome is community supervision, or probation and parole (Carson,

2021; Maruschak & Minton, 2020; Minton & Zeng, 2021; Phelps, 2017; Roth et al., 2021).

Approximately 3.5 million individuals are under community supervision, a trend termed

AUTHORS’ NOTE: This research was supported by 2017-MU-MU-0055, awarded by the National Institute

of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, U.S. Department of Justice. The opinions, findings, and conclusions or

recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of

the U.S. Department of Justice. The authors thank all the participants who shared stories and perspectives with

us. They also express thanks to Dr. Mark Olver, Dr. Jennifer Eno Louden, and three anonymous reviewers who

provided valuable comments on drafts of this article. Correspondence concerning this article should be

addressed to Miltonette Olivia Craig, Department of Criminal Justice and Criminology, George J. Beto

Criminal Justice Center, Sam Houston State University, 816 17th Street, Huntsville, TX 77340; e-mail:

moc006@shsu.edu.

1238341CJBXXX10.1177/00938548241238341Criminal Justice and BehaviorCraig et al. / Supervision Philosophies and Gang-Involved Groups

research-article2024

Craig et al. / SUPERVISION PHILOSOPHIES AND GANG-INVOLVED GROUPS 1091

“mass probation” (Oudekerk & Kaeble, 2021; Phelps, 2019). It is expected that the number

will continue to grow with the rise in alternatives to incarceration prompted by recent legal

interventions, prison reform efforts, and the COVID-19 pandemic (Kaeble, 2021; Kilgore,

2022; Phelps & Ruhland, 2022; Sawyer, 2022).

The large-scale increase in reliance on probation requires system personnel to adopt var-

ied approaches that facilitate success among their clients. Accordingly, the models of prac-

tice for supervising youth and adults vary depending on the type of offense, the individual’s

risk factors, their likelihood to recidivate, and their psychosocial needs—with high-risk,

high-need youth and adults requiring more intensive intervention (Agopian, 1990; Gies et

al., 2013; Jacobs & Gottlieb, 2020; Turner et al., 2022; Viljeon et al., 2018). One group that

presents unique supervision challenges includes those associated with gangs, as they have

a higher risk of reoffending when compared with those who are not gang-involved (Caudill,

2010; Howell & Griffiths, 2018; Pyrooz et al., 2016). These trends are due to the complex-

ity of gang membership and breaking ties with gang associates and networks, in addition to

persistent labeling by criminal legal authorities, such as gang databases (Bolger & Needs,

2022; Bubolz & Lee, 2021; Muniz, 2014; Pyrooz et al., 2014).

GANGS AND RECIDIVISM

Gangs and gang activity occupy a sizable portion of media attention due to their connec-

tion with violence and significant presence in densely populated cities (Coscarelli & Fausset,

2023; Elinson, 2021; Helmore, 2022; Rector, 2022). While research has discussed gangs in

rural parts of the United States (Brown et al., 2023; Glosser, 2016), gang activity remains a

substantial problem in urban locations, with over 85% of urban areas experiencing crime

associated with such activity (Federal Bureau of Investigation, 2011; Vigil, 2003). This

geographical trend has been discussed as an effect of the profound structural disadvantage

in many large cities (Durán & Campos, 2020; Moore & Stuart, 2022; Papachristos et al.,

2013; Swaner, 2022; Vigil, 2019). Attention to gang activity has centered on the involve-

ment of both youth and adults, with much of the literature discussing how affiliation evolves

over the life course and the deleterious effects that adolescent membership can have on

adult outcomes (Caudill, 2010; Gilman et al., 2014).

Although research has expanded with the various changes in gang formation and opera-

tions as well as the implementation and effectiveness of police intervention (Decker &

Pyrooz, 2015; Gravel et al., 2013; Moore & Stuart, 2022; Sanchez et al., 2022), there is

minimal focus on the community supervision strategies in place to address recidivism

among this population. The increased use of probation as a criminal legal outcome neces-

sitates a greater understanding of best practices for supervising gang-involved youth and

adults. The limited research that does exist on gang involvement and probation focuses on

the nature of youth and adults under supervision rather than the specific supervision

approaches used when working with them (Crumé et al., 2021; Jenson & Howard, 1998;

Lenzi et al., 2019). For example, Boxer and colleagues (2015) found that gang involvement

reduced the likelihood of successful outcomes, and Saunders and colleagues (2009) found

that gang members were much more likely to recidivate. However, other research has indi-

cated that gang labels and technical violations—rather than new charges—are factors that

can increase the risk of recidivism (Boots et al., 2018; Rios, 2011). Given that community

corrections nationally have been supervising people connected with gangs for over 30 years,