“Everyone is on supervision”: the function of home visits in structuring family dynamics and exerting continuous control

Community supervision has become commonplace within the United States to monitor, regulate, and attempt to rehabilitate individuals in their transition from a correctional setting back into their communities. An abundance of literature has focused on the recidivism outcomes of individuals on supervision. Much less, however, has focused on the agents of supervision and their daily supervisory strategies and tactics in the community. This study analyzes qualitative interviews with 15 adult probation/parole officers, exploring their supervisory techniques during home visitations. The findings document how officers attempt to leverage assistance from household members, while also subjecting these same individuals to formal surveillance. This paper argues that probation/parole officers mobilize their authority to structure the households they visit to an increased state of surveillance and control. In particular, officer strategies include training household members to comply with supervision while also co-opting these members as supplemental forms of surveillance over their loved one who is under supervision.