Behavioral Science's Impact on the Criminal Justice System

I have always been interested in working with people to support behavioral change, which has led me to working with youth who found themselves in trouble with the law in a variety of settings. From there, it was a natural progression that drove me to become a probation officer. I was drawn to the idea that, using the influence of the courts, the justice system could work to promote prosocial community-based responses to difficult situations. And, by doing so, create safer and healthier communities.

My job is all about the application of behavioral science in business. As a chief probation officer, I am in the business of using what we know about human behavior to promote change. Historically, the criminal justice system has relied heavily on the belief that people are “rational actors.” This belief has led to a system that largely uses a threat of negative consequences to reinforce positive behavior. However, for many of the people in our system these “threats” are ineffectual. We have so many clients with severe substance use issues, mental health issues, homelessness, and other social and behavioral challenges that the idea of a threat-based change model as our only approach is weak at best, completely ineffectual at worst. I have been immersing myself in the behavioral economics literature and have been eager to better understand what research has been teaching us about human behavior from all perspectives, including the business world. I was excited to take the Behavioral Science in Businessprogram and apply what I learned to my current environment.

Behavioral science is the centerpiece of what we do at Denver Adult Probation. I use what I have learned in the program every day. We ask questions about how to gain compliance from clients who are often disinterested in what we have to offer or, alternatively, hostile to our processes. And, by definition, the answers to these questions are behavioral science.

My primary goal is to create an environment in which our clients are most likely to find success. In doing so, I have to consider our approaches from the way we speak to people in our offices to the programming we offer. One of the biggest challenges has been getting probation staff, who in many cases have been doing this job much longer than I have, to “buy into” our new approach. It really is a full-blown culture change.

Behavioral science is the key to my field as a probation officer. It is not enough to plug everybody into a standardized model and expect positive results. Human behavior is much more nuanced than that. We need to consider so many factors when working to achieve our mission.

Continuing education has always been important to me personally and professionally. As a leader of a relatively large government agency, I am frequently faced with troubling issues that require decisive and effective responses. For me, continuing education helps to inform, and in some cases reinforce, my principles. As questions arise, it is my habit to check my principles and use them as a guide for decision making. Continuing education is critical for me as it helps me to better understand my environment and nuance my principles.

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Cary Heck received his PhD in Political Science in 1998 from Washington State University. Since then Cary has worked both in public sector leadership positions and academics. His career has been focused on the nexus of research and practice in a variety of justice related settings and has contributed to both the research side, by publishing several articles, and the practice side, by creating and implementing a variety of innovative system responses.

Cary's role as Chief Probation Officer in Denver began in 2015. His work in Denver has been focused on improving the internal culture of the department and changing processes to support the goal of client success. To help accomplish these goals, Cary changed the perspective of the probation department in Denver to a greater focus on client needs. Using an approach that was informed by the field of medicine, Cary has transformed Denver Adult Probation into a department that works to co-produce outcomes with clients and considers the varied issues and challenges faced by clients. Additionally, he developed a behavior modification model that is informed by research, consistent, and enhances the use of incentives. During his time as Chief the success rates of clients have climbed significantly.

Cary is currently working with his team to develop an internal training and education program for staff that helps support empathy, compassion, understanding, and critical thinking. Part of this training will be focused on issues of self-awareness and social justice. Additionally, the team is reconsidering the traditional responses to clients that pose a higher risk of reoffending. This group has, historically, been resistant to probation efforts to support behavioral change.