REVOLUTIONIZING PRE-PROBATION ASSESSMENTS IN KENYA: A MIXED-METHOD ANALYSIS OF JUVENILE EVALUATION PRACTICES AND RECIDIVISM REDUCTION
Abstract
Purpose of the Study: The study's purpose was to assess existing juvenile assessment practices prior to probation placement and their effect on probation outcomes.
Methodology: The current study used a concurrent-triangulation mixed-method approach, with 226 respondents drawn from Nairobi County's juvenile probationers and probation practitioners. Data was collected using structured questionnaires and a key informant interview guide, and it was analysed descriptively (frequency and percentages), inferentially (binary logistic regression model), and qualitatively.
Findings: The study found that properly carried out pre-probation assessment practices significantly reduce recidivism. However, the lack of juvenile-specific Risk-Need-Responsivity (RNR) assessment tools, a one-week induction period with only passing mentions of juvenile issues, and insufficient training in the existing juvenile assessment mechanisms hampered the optimal juvenile assessment procedure. Rushed assessments were also identified as a barrier to the optimal juvenile assessment process.
Conclusion: Overall, while the existing probation assessment process plays an important role in shaping the outcomes for juvenile offenders by lowering recidivism rates, a number of flaws limit its effectiveness.
Recommendations: The study recommends that probation develop and implement specialized Risk Needs and Responsivity (RNR) assessment tools tailored to juveniles. The probation department's entry-job induction guidelines should be revised to include training with a strong emphasis on juvenile topics, as well as the use of RNR assessment tools. Further, juvenile probation officers require more training focused on the juvenile offender population.
Keywords: Revolutionizing, Pre-Probation, Juvenile, Recidivism, Reduction
References
Baglivio, M. T., Wolff, K. T., Piquero, A. R., Howell, J. C., & Greenwald, M. A. (2017). Risk assessment trajectories of youth during juvenile justice residential placement: Examining change, continuity, and the influence of treatment. Youth Violence and Juvenile Justice, 15(1), 30-46. https://doi.org/10.1177/1541204015625388.
Barnes, G. C., & Hyatt, J. M. (2018). Intensive supervision probation. In Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Criminology and Criminal Justice. https://doi.org/10.1093/acrefore/9780190264079.013.265
Bouchard, J., & Wong, J. S. (2018). Examining the Effects of Intensive Supervision and Aftercare Programs for At-Risk Youth: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology, 62(6), 1509-1534. https://doi.org/10.1177/0306624X17690449.
Chen, L., & Williams, R. (2023). Longitudinal Analysis of Offender Risk Assessment and Recidivism: A Prospective Study. Criminal Justice and Behavior, 32(4), 589-605.
Desmarais, S. L., Johnson, K. L., & Singh, J. P. (2018). Performance of recidivism risk assessment instruments in US correctional settings. Handbook of recidivism risk/needs assessment tools, 1-29.
Development Services Group, Inc. (2015). “Risk and Needs Assessment for Youths.” Literature review. Washington, D.C.: Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention.
Duwe, G., & McNeeley, S. (2021). The Effects of Intensive Postrelease Correctional Supervision on Recidivism: A Natural Experiment. Criminal Justice Policy Review, 32(7), 740-763. https://doi.org/10.1177/0887403421998430
Guy L.S., Vincent G. M., Grisso. T., & Perrault R. (2015). Advancing Use of Risk Assessment in Juvenile Probation. U.S Department of Justice.
Kenya Department of Probation and Aftercare Service. (2015). Probation service report 2010-2014. Government of Kenya.
Lockwood, B., Harris, P. W., & Morton, R. A. (2018). Assessing the predictive validity of the Ohio Youth Assessment System Disposition Tool. Criminal Justice and Behavior, 45(5), 621-639. https://doi.org/10.1177/0093854817743624
Lowenkamp C. T., Latessa E. J., & Holsinger A. M. (2006). The risk principle in action: What have we learned from 13,676 offenders and 97 correctional programs? Crime & Delinquency, 52(1), 77–93. https://doi.org/10.1177%2F0011128705281747.
Luong, D. & Wormith, J. S. (2011). Applying risk/need assessment to probation practice and its impact on the recidivism of young offenders. Criminal Justice and Behavior, 38, 1177-1199. https://doi.org/10.1177/0093854811421596
McMasters, A. (2015). "Effective Strategies for Preventing Recidivism Among Juveniles". Honors Senior Theses/Projects.
Muntingh, L., & Schoeman, M. (2019). Risk and needs assessment in probation practices in South Africa.
Mutisya, J.C. (2019). Effectiveness of probation and Community Service Order Sentencing on Offenders: A case study of Nairobi County. Master’s Research Project. University of Nairobi.
National Crime Research Centre. (2022). A Study on the delivery of community-Based sentences: the case of probation orders in Kenya. The Jomo Kenyatta Foundation.
National Institute of Justice and Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (2014). Prediction and Risk/Needs Assessment. Justice Research. Washington, D.C.
Pew Center on the States. (2011). Risk/Needs Assessment 101: Science Reveals New Tools to Manage Offenders. Washington, D.C.
Rettenberger, M., & Eher, R. (2024). How the risk principle reduces recidivism: The impact of legislative revisions on the release and re-offense rates of individuals convicted of sexual offenses. Law and Human Behavior, 48(3), 214–227. https://doi.org/10.1037/lhb0000560.
Serin, R. C., Chadwick, N., & Lloyd, C. D. (2019). Integrating dynamic risk assessment into community supervision practice. The Wiley international handbook of correctional psychology, 725-743.
Shoulders, W. (2019). Identifying Parental Experiences during a Pre-probation Orientation Class (Doctoral dissertation, Capella University).
Siegel, L.J., & Welsh, B. (2009). Juvenile Delinquency: Theory, Practice and Law. Wadsworth, Cengage Learning Academic Resource Center.
Smith, J., & Johnson, A. (2022). The Impact of Offender Needs Assessment on Recidivism Rates: A Meta-Analysis. Journal of Criminal Justice, 45(2), 210-225.
Taxman, F. S., & Caudy, M. S. (2015). Risk tells us who, but not what or how: Empirical assessment informs the need for supervision. Journal of Offender Rehabilitation, 54(8), 565-583. https://doi.org/10.1111/1745-9133.12116
Vincent, G.M., Guy L.S., & Grisso, T. (2012). Risk Assessment in Juvenile Justice: A Guidebook for Implementation. New York, N.Y.: Models for Change.
