Probation Violations During COVID-19: A Model for Expedited Case Processing
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SESSION INFO

Tuesday, August 30, 2022
11:15 AM - 12:15 PM
Session Type: Workshop
The exponential rise in COVID-19 in jails has highlighted the need for policies that promote decaceration. Most jail reform has not considered individuals detained for a probation violation. The goals of the panel are threefold. First, we will illustrate the probation revocation process in St. Louis County, Missouri, and, using jail data, we document the role of probation violations as one driver of the jail population. Second, we will present the results of an evaluation of the St. Louis County Expedited Probation Program, which was designed to accelerate case processing and provide services for individuals detained on a probation technical violation. Finally, the team will describe how the project was changed and enhanced during COVID-19. We also present results from interviews with individuals on probation and probation officers to better understand the efficacy and potential challenges with these reforms.

SESSION PRESENTERS
Dr. Beth Huebner
Professor, University of Missouri St. Louis


Beth M. Huebner is a professor and graduate director in the Department of Criminology and Criminal Justice at the University of Missouri-St. Louis. Her principal research interests include punishment, the collateral consequences of incarceration, and public policy. She is currently serving as principal investigator for the St. Louis County MacArthur Safety + Justice Challenge which is tasked with reducing the jail population in St. Louis County through systems reform. She is also collaborating on a study of monetary sanctions in Missouri and is part of the Misdemeanor Justice Project. Both projects are supported with funding from the Arnold Foundation and are designed to consider how small contact with the criminal justice system can influence future case processing, life trajectories, and broader crime trends. She has worked on collaborative projects with the Missouri Department of Probation and Parole, The Pew Charitable Trusts, the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department, and the Missouri Highway Patrol. She serves as the current Vice President of the American Society of Criminology. She is the editor for the Oxford Bibliographies in Criminology and is Associate Editor for Criminal Justice and Behavior. She earned her PhD in Criminal Justice from Michigan State University in 2003.

Dr. Kimberly Kras
Assistant Professor, San Diego State University


Kimberly R. Kras, Ph.D., is an Assistant Professor in the School of Public Affairs at San Diego State University, where she teaches undergraduate and graduate courses in research methods, the corrections system, and the criminal legal system. She earned her Ph.D. in Criminology and Criminal Justice from the University of Missouri-St. Louis, following a career with the Missouri Division of Probation and Parole. Dr. Kras also holds a master’s in criminal justice and Criminology and bachelor’s in psychology from the University of Missouri-Kansas City. Dr. Kras’ research examines the lived experiences of people experiencing reentry from prison and their process toward desistance. Dr. Kras also considers how community corrections organizations, and their staff employ evidence-based practices to support (or hinder) the reintegration of justice-involved people. Recently, Dr. Kras has been working with community-based organizations to understand the role of employment and support in desistance, as well as a project that examines the community management of individuals convicted of sexual offenses. Kim’s work has been published in Criminology, Justice Quarterly, Criminology and Public Policy, Criminal Justice and Behavior and the International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology. Kim also serves as the Co-Editor of Perspectives (journal for the American Probation and Parole Association), Associate Editor of the journal Victims & Offenders, and holds affiliations with the Global Community Corrections Initiative (UMass Lowell) and the Center for Advancing Correctional Excellence (George Mason University).

Richard Powell
District Administrator, MO Department of Corrections Division of Probation and Parole


Richard Powell is the District Administrator for the Missouri Department of Corrections; Division of Probation & Parole. He has worked for 12 years with this agency and is an active part of the St. Louis County Safety and Justice Challenge.