An End to 9-5 Supervision: The Rapid Engagement Team

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4:00 PM - 5:00 PM

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Prosocial influences of supervision are often inaccessible after a supervision officer’s daily tour of duty ends. To remedy this, District of Columbia supervision officers have made a radical operational change to deliver community-based interventions for high-risk offenders in the predawn hours and well past the setting of the sun. Since July 2017, the Court Services and Offender Supervision Agency (CSOSA) has worked to develop a mechanism to engage high-risk offenders and those with high levels of noncompliance outside normal business hours. The Rapid Engagement Team is comprised of field-based supervision officers who work non-traditional hours and do not carry caseloads. They are responsible for interrupting antisocial influences among the highest-risk offenders in the community and for delivering interventions for those who fail to report after sentencing or release, leave treatment facilities, have a GPS tamper, or are rearrested and released. The Rapid Engagement Team has also improved working relationships with local law enforcement, making supervision staff more accessible and responsive to public safety needs. This workshop will discuss the evolving role of the Rapid Engagement Team, the barriers to implementation, and a vision for the future of more responsive supervision.