One of the most serious challenges facing most parole or probation and community corrections supervision officers in the criminal justice system is the issue of specialized caseloads that they have to handle at any given time. This is particularly acute in cases where there are poor caseload management systems in place. Such specialized caseloads usually consist of cases relating to domestic violence offenders, offenders with mental health problems, high risk drug and substance abuse offenders and sex offenders.
According to a research study by Alarid, Cromwell and Carmen, two of the greatest challenges for supervisors working with specialized caseloads include difficulty in coordination of treatment of offenders and ensuring compliance with counselling and medication schedules ( 128). Other potential challenges in handling specialized caseloads may include possibility or risk of manipulation by some of the domestic violence offenders by presenting themselves as victims. Further, promotion of the safety of the probationers may prove to be quite challenging where they use intimidation and being unresponsive. Thus, the greatest challenge may also be how to get the various players in the criminal justice system to cooperate in properly handling caseloads relating to these groups of offenders.
Furthermore, effectively managing and handling the caseload pressure may be a challenge in cases where there are few personnel in the given department. Additionally, lack of evidence-based practices on specialized caseload management can also prove to be quite challenging for most supervisors. Besides these, lack of requisite training and knowledge on specialized caseload management and handling can be a challenge for some parole and probation supervisors. Furthermore, spending much of one’s time with the parolees and probationers and helping them do deal with other issues such as employment, reentry preparation and medical treatment or rehab may prove to be challenging work for the concerned officers.
Works Cited
Alarid, Leanne Fiftal, Paul Cromwell and Rolando V Del Carmen. "Specialized caseloads." Alarid, Leanne Fiftal, Paul Cromwell and Rolando V Del Carmen. Community-based corections. Belmont, CA: Thomson Wadsworth, 2007. 126-132.
