Creating our future: CCS Redevelopment Conference. (Probation and Parole Forum).

I had the privilege to participate in the Community Correctional Services (CCS) Redevelopment Conference held in Melbourne, Australia, April 30-May 1. CCS of Victoria, Australia, has embarked on an ambitious redevelopment project and the conference was the launch of its endeavor. In opening the conference, CCS Director David Daley stated, "This conference marks an important phase in the revitalization of CCS," and that participants should "aspire to build a service that is open and receptive to new ideas, and be prepared to challenge the received wisdom of the past."

Daley continued by advising the audience that to be an effective learning, high-performing organization, exposure to new and intriguing perspectives can be a useful stimulus to pursuing a broader vision. However, Daley explained, the conference was not just for the sake of knowledge accumulation. "We have an obligation to reinvest the lessons learned into the development of effective supervision of offenders in the community," he said. Daley emphasized the "need to apply the lessons of 'what works' in helping offenders to lead orderly, productive lives." He noted that community corrections also needs to engage with its stakeholders to build community confidence in what CCS does.

The Hon. Andre Haermeyer, member of parliament and minister for corrections, delivered the official opening address. He discussed the reasons for CCS' redevelopment and referenced the rising crime rate, a crowded prison system and the changes in offender profiles (especially the increase in drug-related offenses). Haermeyer also noted that although CCS had been neglected in the past, the times were changing. New resources are being made available to address the problem of low supervision levels (believed to be because of the court's lack of confidence in the service), and the increase in breach of conditions of release (believed to be due to lack of supervisory capacity and appropriate programming). The Victoria government's response, he said, is to place more resources and emphasis on:

* Increasing the police service;

* Increasing prison capacity;

* Alternative sentencing; and

* Crime prevention.

The Victorian government is making a major investment in the prison service and in community corrections. It is important, Haermeyer said, that there is a revitalized and reshaped CCS that will focus on rehabilitative and diversion programs. Also, he noted, there will be an effort to develop rehabilitative programs in the prison as well. Key to these innovations will be the evaluation of these programs. In closing his address, Haermeyer issued a challenge to CCS employees by noting that it is important that CCS vindicate the government's investment in community corrections.

Peter Harmsworth, secretary of Victoria's Department of Justice, provided an overview of the government's initiatives in recreating the correctional system in Victoria. The trick, he said, was to right size, that is, counter the image of downsizing, the organization without capsizing it. It is the government's aim to develop a "world-best correctional system." The approach is to develop comprehensive programs for corrections and criminal justice that include:

* Alternative dispositions;

* Expanded programs for inmates and conditionally released inmates;

* Crime prevention;

* Therapeutic jurisprudence;

* Diversion; and

* Restorative justice.

Harmsworth's address was followed by my presentation, "Strategic Partnerships: Vision for Community Corrections." I reported on the development of police-probation partnerships in Canada, Europe, the United Kingdom and the United States. Emphasis was placed on the value of these projects in managing high-risk offenders and in the project usefulness in reducing noncompliance. Special attention was given to the Texas Spotlight Project, which featured both adult and juvenile probation partnerships with local law enforcement.

Professor Arie Freiberg of the University of Melbourne presented an overview of his sentencing study and discussed proposed legislative changes that would support a stronger emphasis on the use of community measures.

In her presentation, "Sharing the Community Correctional Redevelopment Experience," Catriona McComish, assistant commissioner of the Department of Corrective Services of New South Wales, discussed the increased interest in and use of home detention. Home detention is being used as a diversionary strategy that provides a measure of community protection and offender accountability. It is intended for offenders assessed as high-risk and high-need on the Level of Supervision Inventory-Revised edition.

Professor James McGuire of the University of Liverpool, United Kingdom, presented, "What Works in Corrections: Reducing Re-Offending." He reviewed the current literature on evidence-based correctional practice and concluded that there are a number of programs that reduce recidivism. McGuire outlined the major elements in effective programs:

* A sound theoretical base;

* Risk assessment and allocation;

* Focus on dynamic risk factors;

* Responsivity to individual learning styles;

* A structured and directive approach to programs;

* Programs are in a community-based setting;

* Use of cognitive-behavioral methods; and

* Monitoring of program integrity.

McGuire closed his session by suggesting that there are still unanswered questions for researchers and practitioners to address. He then listed three possible areas for further investigation:

* Translating the efficacy of demonstration programs into effectiveness in practical programs;

* The importance of gender, culture and ethnicity as factors in assessment and programming; and

* The importance of the context and extent of variety that must be accounted for in evaluation.

The closing speaker was Ann Clark, general manager of the New Zealand Department of Corrections Community Probation Service. Her topic related to the four-year implementation of the department's Integrated Offender Management System. This approach uses a consistent assessment process and consistent programs based on the assessment. In implementing this approach, the Community Probation Service was guided by four general principles:

* Application of best practice knowledge;

* Emphasis on the consistent application of program elements;

* Clearly targeting resources at the areas of highest risk and need; and

* Adhering to a transparent set of business/management rules.

The major components of the integrated offender management system were induction, assessment, social conditions and sentence management regimes.

This was a very exciting and interesting conference. The key themes were the same that correctional administrators in North America are facing. Adequate resources, stakeholder management, developing partnerships, reliance on evidence-based programs and appropriate use assessment instruments all are key issues. However, the conference also pointed to some other important elements of a successful organizational change: the need for a good information system, a willingness to evaluate programs, and staff training and development. Without an enthusiastic, well-motivated staff to implement strategies and programs, successful implementation is unlikely.

Donald G. Evans is president of the Canadian Training Institute in Toronto.