Success and Failure of Adult Probationers in California

This paper reports the findings of a study that related a series of background and treatment variables to the likelihood of success or failure on probation for 791 California adult offenders. Thirteen variables on which the 415 probation successes and the 376 failures differed significantly were divided into three catego ries: social background, antisocial behavior, and conditions of probation. The greatest differences between the two groups were in the antisocial behavior category. Probationers with a past history of disciplinary problems in the mililary, a juvenile record, or an adult record were much more likely to fail on probation. The type of crime the failures commit (property: auto theft, check offenses, forgery) suggests elements of career offenders. In terms of social background, the failures were more likely to come from disadvantaged circumstances: lower educa tional level and lower socio-economic status. They are also more unstable, as reflected in a high incidence of marital instability and a greater tendency to move from job to job. Finally, certain conditions of probation, especially the ordering of restitution, were more prevalent in the case histories of the failures than of the successes.