CCS decision making tools: Understanding CCS
National Criminal Justice Modelling Workshop: 2003
Presenters: Robert Fatchen and Anne Bruce, Department of Justice, Victoria
Overview of presentation:
In 2002, Community Corrections Redevelopment Unit within Corrections Victoria together with Portfolio Planning commenced a process to develop strategic planning and forecasting models that encompass the key inputs and activities of the Community Correctional Services (CCS). A suite of dynamic models with a user-friendly interface are now available to CCS to improve business information and decision making. In addition to the Forecasting Model, CCS Redevelopment also introduced an Accessibility model and a Workload model. The CCS Forecasting, Workload and Accessibility models form part of the overall Victorian Department of Justice ‘Suite of Models’.
The Microsoft Excel based models provide a framework for the quantitative analysis of strategic planning decisions for Community Correctional Services.
In the Forecasting Model, demographic forecasts, order types and crime trends are employed to forecast the number and type of community based orders, offender volumes, and community based order outcomes on an annual basis 20 years into the future. Users may create scenarios that estimate the likely impact on numbers and resources of suggested trends and patterns in sentencing and offending.
Workshops held at least once a year with representatives from Corrections, Courts, Prosecutions, Academia, DHS, other community stakeholders and Police provide expert advice on what other factors will drive the numbers.
The Workload Model was developed to apportion resources on the basis of distribution of workload, to inform on the differences in order numbers and order-type profile for each of the CCS locations within the state and to capture the extent of CCS time commitment in the provision of other services to stakeholders such as, Court Advice and the preparation of reports for the Adult Parole Board.
The Accessibility Model provides a tool to assist in the geographical location of CCS resources relative to the demand for that resource. This model was developed in response to a recruitment drive to appoint 50 additional Community Corrections Officers throughout the State. As there were not enough workstations to accommodate the extra staff within the existing offices, the recruitment provided the impetus to review the size and accessibility of the existing CCS offices and to determine where to site any additional facilities and the optimal staff numbers for that site. The premise is that the less the offender has to travel the more likely they are to complete their order successfully. The model uses geographically informative data to visually depict, using MapInfo, location indices of supply (staff) and demand (CCS clients).
The model has the capacity to explore the impact of several other indicators, such as correspondence between court advice worker and courts; between thru care workers and prison locations.
Currently being developed is an Evaluation Model that will enable results-oriented management, providing a base for organisational improvements. This will give us the ability to put recidivism into perspective by measuring short-term and intermediate outcomes.
Utilising pre and post measures of offender management outcomes, the model will empower CCOs by equipping them with information, the capacity to demonstrate their value and provide a better assessment of what community corrections do and how well they do it.
Together with the Forecasting and Workload models, The Accessibility model provides a valuable business tool to determine optimum location and level of resources in order to enhance service delivery. In addition to improved strategic placement of infrastructure and staff resources, ease of access to suitable programs is a vital step to enhance rehabilitation. Some examples of the application of the models in the past twelve months will be shown.
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Last reviewed: Aug 25, 2009, Last modified: Dec 13, 2006
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