Things have changed so much since I started in the profession. Crime has changed, but theres also a new movement to help prevent individuals from becoming repeat offenders, says Chewkanes who will earn his masters in criminal justice from Rutgers-Camden this month.
A member of the first class of the Rutgers-Camden graduate program in criminal justice, Chewkaness ambitious independent project on recidivism in Camden County took two years to research. He reviewed 1, 005 cases five years after their sentencing to determine if programs, like drug treatment, batterers counseling, parenting classes, or psychiatric evaluations and counseling, helped offenders succeed on probation.
To Chewkaness surprise, less offenders received programs than he thought. Of the 1,005 cases he studied, 812 did not receive programs.
The programs are here, theres just not enough of them, says the Cherry Hill resident. Some crimes, too, are more difficult to pair with a treatment program.
With the help of student interns, Chewkanes pulled more than a thousand files from the prosecutors office to determine variables like race, gender, and criminal history. He also received special permission from the Chief Justice of the New Jersey Supreme Court to pull another thousand files on the same cases from probation records for more conclusive results.
Hopefully this information is something people in this county could use. I know its given me insight, he says of the 79-page document.
After graduating high school in 1965, Chewkanes entered the Air Force. He earned a bachelors in political science from Rutgers-Camden in 1976 and a law degree from Widener University School of Law in 1979.
We are a professional and respectful office, not like TV shows where they want to send everyone to prison. People have problems and treatment helps, but its a balance. Our obligation is to the public, so the risks we do take are always calculated, Chewkanes adds.