VOLUME 50, NO 2 THE JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN PROBATION AND PAROLE ASSOCIATION WWW.APPA-NET.ORG COMMUNITY SUPERVISION AND ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCET his edition of Perspectives highlights the integration of artificial intelligence into community corrections. These useful articles showcase various tools that are designed, for example, to promote professional learning, expand our ability to track the progress of those under supervision, and serve as force multipliers to help alleviate staff shortages. Dr. Ioan Durnescu discusses the exciting potential offered by a professional learning platform called ReHub, an AI tool designed to provide ongoing and efficient access to professional knowledge within the “daily rhythms” of corrections staff as they go about their work. ReHub is apparently viewed by its creators as the “Netflix of Rehabilitation” due to its ability to present best practices research, theory, and skills in short and engaging formats. It shows great potential for ensuring that national standards are embedded into daily practice. In Valerie Bagley’s paper, “Leveraging AI to Surface Desistance Narratives: A Framework for Community Corrections Professionals,” she discusses the importance of desistance as well as the difficulties faced by supervision officers tasked with tracking the minutiae of progress towards desistance--those small steps forward that call for “encouragement, intervention, or targeted support.” The AI-based framework she outlines, which involves obtaining digitally delivered Interactive journals from corrections clients using the Atlas platform, both increases ability to pick up on desistance indicators and saves staff time. Mark Ferriera also writes about the effective leveraging of AI in community corrections, with emphasis on the great need for AI tools to aid professional staff in short- handed offices. He points out that the current problem of excessive vacancies faced by many offices is very unlikely to be just a short-term problem, as the prospects for reversal of this trend in the immediate future are not good. Given that, the efficiency of current staff must be optimized, and to that end his department has begun using AI tools provided by Cognisen. One advantage of using this AI tool will be streamlining of administrative tasks, such as form preparation and other paperwork. Ferriera points out, for example, that officers can use Cognisen to eliminate the need to painstakingly comb through notes to prepare for a compliance check. They can instead have an AI tool to assess the client’s records and fully inform the officer of salient issues and probation terms via an audio summary provided en route to the contact. Ferriera comments that this can be a safety gain as well as an efficiency gain. He emphasizes, however, that it is still the trained corrections staff who should and must remain responsible for all recommendations and supervision decisions. Ferriera’s point about clearly demarcating the line between staff responsibilities and what can be relegated to AI tools is extremely important. Human judgment remains the core. This is YOUR domain and YOUR area of expertise, albeit with the advantage of having increased information at your fingertips from utilizing these new tools. Regard AI as a force multiplier for you and other practitioners by automating administrative tasks, freeing you up to better promote behavioral change efforts. The bottom line is that considerable work has gone into developing complex and interconnected systems that can nevertheless be readily mastered and hopefully go on to prove their merit. Embracing these tools, and embracing them with integrity, is crucial for adapting to the evolving landscape of probation and parole, ensuring both efficiency and safety in the field. AI is no longer just an abstraction. It is now offering up assets ready to be operationalized in your office today--assets that have the potential for having demonstrable, real, long-term value. As always, I want to express my appreciation to those who have contributed articles to this issue. I trust readers will agree with me that the authors have made the case that it’s time for those working in community corrections to do more than just test the waters when it comes to AI. It’s time to dive right in. VERONICA CUNNINGHAM EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR/ CEO APPA executive director/ceo’s messageA rtificial intelligence is no longer something waiting for us in the future.It is here. Across government, business, education, healthcare, and the justice system, AI is changing how information is collected, analyzed, and used to make decisions. Community corrections will not be immune from this transformation. In fact, probation and parole agencies have an opportunity to help shape how artificial intelligence is responsibly incorporated into our profession. The question before us is not simply, “How can we use AI?” The more important question is, “How can we use AI to improve supervision while protecting fairness, accountability, public safety, and the human dignity of the people we serve?” AI as a Tool, Not a Replacement Community supervision has always been about people. Technology can analyze information, identify patterns, automate administrative processes, and help professionals organize increasingly complex caseloads. But technology cannot replace the relationship between a supervision officer and the person standing in front of them. It cannot replace judgment. It cannot replace empathy. It cannot replace the conversation that helps someone understand that their life can be different. The strongest application of AI in community corrections should therefore not be replacing professionals; it should be supporting professionals so they have more time to do the work only people can do. Imagine an officer beginning the day with technology that helps organize caseload priorities, identifies upcoming court requirements, highlights individuals who may need additional attention, summarizes lengthy case information, and assists with routine documentation. The goal should not be to allow AI to supervise people. The goal should be to give officers more time to supervise people. From Administrative Burden to Meaningful Engagement One of the greatest challenges facing probation and parole professionals is the increasing administrative burden associated with the work. Documentation, reports, case notes, scheduling, data entry, compliance monitoring, and information gathering consume significant portions of an officer’s day. Many of these responsibilities are necessary, but every hour spent navigating administrative processes can become an hour unavailable for meaningful engagement. Artificial intelligence may provide an opportunity to change that equation. Used responsibly, AI could assist agencies with summarizing information, preparing routine documents, organizing case information, identifying missed appointments, analyzing trends, and helping professionals find relevant policies or resources more efficiently. If technology can reduce administrative burden, then we should reinvest that time where it matters most—with people, families, victims, communities, and our justice partners. The Promise Must Be Balanced with Responsibility However, we cannot discuss artificial intelligence without discussing its risks. Community supervision involves decisions that can significantly affect someone’s liberty and future. Because of those consequences, we must approach AI differently than industries where an incorrect recommendation simply results in someone receiving the wrong advertisement. Algorithms are developed using data, and data can contain historical inequities, incomplete information, or biases. If we are not careful, technology can reproduce those problems at a scale and speed that makes them more difficult to recognize. That is why human oversight must remain fundamental. AI-generated information should inform professional president’s message MARCUS M. HODGES PRESIDENTjudgment—not automatically determine outcomes. Officers and leaders must understand the limitations of the technology they are using. Agencies must examine issues involving privacy, transparency, security, accuracy, bias, and accountability before implementing AI systems. And when technology contributes to a decision affecting someone’s supervision, agencies must be able to explain how that technology was used. Leadership Cannot Be Delegated to Technology AI will also challenge leaders. It will require us to develop policies before problems force us to develop them. It will require training employees not simply on how to operate new technology but on when to question it. It will require conversations between practitioners, researchers, technologists, policymakers, community organizations, and people with lived experience. Most importantly, leaders must create environments where employees understand that artificial intelligence is a resource—not a substitute for critical thinking. We cannot allow the convenience of technology to become the abandonment of professional responsibility. If an algorithm recommends something that does not make sense, someone must be willing to ask why. If data appear inconsistent with what an officer knows about an individual, someone must investigate further. If technology creates an unintended disparity, leadership must be willing to stop, examine, and correct it. Technology can assist leadership. It cannot replace leadership. APPA’s Role in the Conversation For decades, the American Probation and Parole Association has helped advance professional standards, research, training, and innovation throughout community corrections. Artificial intelligence represents another important moment for our field. APPA should help bring practitioners together to examine emerging technology, identify promising practices, discuss ethical concerns, establish appropriate safeguards, and ensure that community corrections professionals have a voice in technologies that will affect their work. We should not fear innovation. But neither should we accept innovation simply because it is new. Our responsibility is to determine whether technology advances our mission, strengthens public safety, supports successful outcomes, improves organizational effectiveness, and respects the people affected by our decisions. Never Lose the Human Connection As powerful as artificial intelligence may become, I believe something even more powerful will remain at the center of community corrections: Human connection. Sometimes success begins because an officer noticed something an algorithm could never fully understand. A change in someone’s voice. A different look in their eyes. A conversation at the right moment. A word of encouragement. An officer saying, “I believe you can do better.” Technology may help us identify patterns. Data may help us understand risk. Artificial intelligence may help us work faster and smarter. But people create relationships, and relationships can create change. As we enter this new era, our challenge is not to choose between technology and humanity. Our challenge is to bring the best of both together. Let us embrace innovation while maintaining accountability. Let us explore artificial intelligence while protecting professional judgment. Let us modernize our profession without forgetting the fundamental purpose behind our work. Because regardless of how advanced our technology becomes, community supervision will always be about communities, relationships, opportunities, accountability—and people.Portable Alcohol Monitoring Prevent Alcohol Impaired Driving Alcohol Monitoring Anywhere, Anytime Proven Technology for Safer Roads & Smarter Supervision Actionable Data. Better Outcomes. One Trusted Partner. Let’s Build Safer Communities Together Scan the QR code to learn more about LifeSafer solutions or email us at LifeSaferPartner@ScramSystems.com We’dlove toconnectand see howwecan support you. Reduce Speeding & Support Safe HabitsPerspectives disseminates information to the American Probation and Parole Association’s members on relevant policy and program issues and provides updates on activities of the Association. The membership represents adult and juvenile probation, parole, and community corrections agencies throughout the United States and abroad. Articles submitted for publication are screened by an editorial committee and, on occasion, selected reviewers, to determine acceptability based on relevance to the field of criminal justice, clarity of presentation, or research methodology. Perspectives does not reflect unsupported personal opinions. Articles must be emailed to perspectives@csg.org in accordance with the following deadlines: • Unless previously discussed with the editors, submissions should not exceed 12 typed pages, numbered consecutively, and double-spaced. All charts, graphs, tables, and photographs must be of reproduction quality. Optional titles may be submitted and selected after review with the editors. •All submissions must be in English and in American Psychological Association (APA) Style. • Authors should provide a one-paragraph biography, along with contact information. • Notes should be used only for clarification or substantive comments, and should appear at the end of the text. • References to source documents should appear in the body of the text with the author’s surname and the year of publication in parentheses, e.g., to (Mattson, 2015, p. 73). •Alphabetize each reference at the end of the text using the following format: • Mattson, B. (2015). Technology supports decision making in health and justice. Perspectives, 39(4), 70-79. • Hanser, R. D. (2014). Community corrections (2 nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. 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Submissions will not be returned to contributors. instructions to authorsaffiliate members American Correctional Association Association of Paroling Authorities International Association of Women Executives in Corrections Caribbean Association of Probation and Parole Confederation of European Probation FL Association of Community Corrections IJIS Institute International Community Justice Association Interstate Commission for Adult Offender Supervision KS Association of Court Services Officers National Association of Court Approved Treatment Providers National Association of Pretrial Services Agencies National Association of Probation Executives National Crime Prevention Council New England Council on Crime and Delinquency New Zealand Association of Probation Officers OH Chief Probation Officers Association Probation Association of New Jersey Probation Officers Association of Wielkopolska Probation Officers Professional Association of IN Texas Probation Association VA Probation and Parole Associationcorporate members 8 PRODUCTION STAFF 9-10 APPA CORPORATE MEMBERS 13 LEVERAGING AR COMMUNITY CORRECTIONS TIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE IN BY MARK FERRIERA A FRAMEWORK FOR COMMUNITY CORRECTIONS PROFESSIONALS 25 LEVERAGING AI T O SURFACE DESISTANCE NARRA TIVES: BY VALERIE BAGLEY TURNING ASPIRATIONAL GUIDANCE INTO EVERYDAY PRACTICE USING MODERN TECHNOLOGIES 19 REHUB AND THE APPA NATIONAL STAND ARDS: BY PROF. 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CSG, the multibranch association of the states and U.S. territories, works with state leaders across the nation and through its regions to put the best ideas and solutions into practice.Allied Universal Electronic Monitoring Kerri Ryan, Strategic Marketing Manager 1838 Gunn Hwy, Odessa, FL 33556 kerri.ryan@em.aus.com Averhealth Justin Manni, Vice President of Business Development 2916 W. Marshall Street, Suite A Richmond, VA 23230 jmanni@averhealth.com Cognisen Christian Britton 1029 16th Street Modesto, CA 95354 Christian.britton@cognisen.com Corrections Software Solutions James Redus, President 316 North Lamar Street, Austin, TX 78703 jredus@correctionssoftware.com Empower Mikalya Berry 3500 Piedmont Road NE Suite 310 Atlanta GA, 30305 mikayla.berry@empowercommunitycare.com Fieldware Susan Rice, Senior Customer Success Manager 159 N. 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Corporate members receive benefits such as enhanced visibility among APPA’s international network of community corrections professionals, as well as shared information on the latest trends and issues that specifically affect community corrections. CORPORATE MEMBER corporate members Continued on page 10...Next >