ISSN: 0973-5089 | [email protected]

Prolific and Priority Offenders in British Columbia, Canada: A Preliminary Analysis of Recidivism

Stefanie N Rezansoff, Akm Moniruzzaman, Julian M. Somers

Simon Frazer University, Canada

Abstract:

This paper is a preliminary analysis of a Prolific and Priority Offender Management multi-site initiative operating in British Columbia, Canada. We analyzed pre-post changes in offender behaviour in six British Columbia communities (N=197). Outcomes were examined via the British Columbia Inter-Ministry Research Initiative, which includes linked administrative data corresponding to health, justice and social services. Our longitudinal analysis suggests that offender enrolment in the program was associated with a significant reduction in recidivism (>40%). Mean custody time and recorded negative police contacts also decreased, suggesting that reduced recidivism was likely not attributable to reduced offending opportunities due to incarceration and that offenders were less active in offending overall. Significant increases in health and social service use were also observed, substantiating previous studies indicating that prolific offenders do not engage in health and social services at levels commensurate with their needs. Results confirm the potential for a number of benefits associated with inter-agency collaboration and management of prolific offenders, including reduced recidivism, improved offender welfare and enhanced community safety.

Keyword:

PPO, recidivism, police-probation partnerships, property crime, offender management, supervision