Aligning Supervision Conditions with the Risk-Needs-Responsivity Framework

By Kelly Lyn Mitchell, Julia Laskorunsky, Ebony Ruhland, and Tammy Dean

Community supervision, commonly known as probation or parole, involves people serving part of their sentence under supervision while living in the community. Supervision conditions are requirements that individuals must comply with during this period, such as engaging in a treatment program, maintaining employment, or regularly checking in with their probation or parole officer. However, the current condition-setting approach often focuses on setting restrictions on behavior without providing meaningful guidance for behavioral change. This policy brief proposes aligning supervision conditions with the Risk-Needs-Responsivity (RNR) framework to improve outcomes for individuals on supervision and the community. 

Policy Brief, Minneapolis, MN: Robina Institute of Criminal Law and Criminal Justice. 2023. 7p.