III. The Challenge of Incentives

Historically, incentives have not been a focus in the corrections field. While punishments are easily taken away, affirmative rewards, especially those that are other than verbal compliments, can be problematic. Rewards generally are difficult to deliver and may be seen as too "soft" on criminals. As a result, many supervision agencies have focused their resources almost exclusively on sanctioning or punishing offenders for failure to comply with legal conditions. This is especially true in times of economic downturn, when the mindset of staff tends to drift more towards the law enforcement end of the correctional spectrum.

Yet while many staff still struggle with the social work/law enforcement paradigm, research on behavior management has clearly demonstrated that incentives are as important as punishments in changing offender behavior. This is precisely what professionals in corrections, law enforcement and social work are looking for--sustained behavioral change that leads to reduced recidivism and increased public safety.