Community supervision, prosocial activities, and recidivism

Research studying the relationship between intensity of community supervision and recidivism leads to two possible conclusions: (1) there is no consistent relationship, or (2) the relationship is indirect. In this paper we consider a theoretical model that is consistent with the latter possibility. Increased intensity of supervision is hypothesized to increase involvement in conventional and therapeutic activities; this, in turn, should be associated with a reduction in future offending. We examined the viability of this connection using data from four states, and drew the following conclusions: (1) intensity of supervision is associated positively with involvement in prosocial activities; (2) intensity of supervision is not associated consistently with involvement in new criminal activities; and (3) an inverse association exists between involvement in prosocial activities and involvement in new criminal activities after adjusting for measured factors that are thought to affect both outcomes.