Community supervision agencies – probation and parole – have historically supported individuals under their supervision through support and helping them connect to services they need to change their behavior and thrive. However, during the tough-on-crime movement in the 1980s, many community supervision agencies expected their community supervision officers to surveil and closely monitor individuals under supervision – to act more much like police than a support system. As part of this transformation, some community supervision agencies required officers to dress in uniform, gave them arrest powers, and armed them with a firearm and baton.

Now, almost five decades later, many community supervision agencies still maintain this law enforcement style approach. Other community supervision agencies have returned to historic approaches of plain clothes with an emphasis on accountability through building relationships rather than through punishment.

However, more recently, reform-minded community supervision leaders and researchers believe that uniformed and armed community supervision officers cannot effectively support behavior change of individuals under supervision. They believe the presence of a firearm during any therapeutic session about behavior change is inherently untherapeutic. Many believe that plain clothed community supervision officers are better positioned to deliver evidence-based practices and develop a working relationship built on empathy and compassion.

Funded by the Annie E. Casey Foundation, JSP is conducting the first-of-a-kind study to understand the impact of armed and unarmed community supervision officers on completion of community supervision and the perceived safety of officers and individuals under supervision. This study will include survey data from adult and juvenile community supervision agencies across the country and rely on administrative data from a sample of survey respondents. This study provides insight for the field and community supervision agencies on how best to create an environment of safety which also supports behavior change for individuals.