Assignment:
You have some questions concerning the following case study:
The judge is considering placing an offender who got caught with 17g of heroin on probation but is unsure which caseload would be appropriate. He asks the probation officer to write a presentence investigation report and conduct a risk needs assessment on the offender. During this process, the probation officer will be asked to provide a recommendation to the judge/court regarding which caseload the offender will be appropriate for.
The offender could be placed on her caseload if the score is lower than 32. However, if the score is a 33 or higher, he will be placed on an intensive supervision caseload. Although his true score is a 31 (basic caseload), she decides to grant him a few additional points throughout to increase his score. Now she can recommend the offender to be placed on an intensive caseload.
1. What is the risk/need principle with regard to probation caseload.
2. Who developed the principle?
3. Do you think the principle is important?
4. What impact do you think overclassifying the offender will have on his case?
5. What does the supporting literature say?
6. Assume the judge caught this mistake and places him on the basic caseload. What programming would be recommended to adhere to the needs principle?