Probation and Community
Corrections
Chapter 12
Introduction to Criminal Justice 2003:
A Microsoft® PowerPoint® Tool
Slides prepared by:
Larry Bassi
SUNY Brockport
© 2002 Wadsworth Publishing Co.
Task of the Corrections System
Corrections includes building or
rebuilding solid ties between the
offender and the community,
integrating or reintegrating the offender
into the community life - restoring
family ties, obtaining employment and
an education, securing in the larger
sense a place for the offender in the
routine functioning of society.
Pretrial
Diversion
Pretrial Diversion
Programs interrupt the
proceedings and usually
include treatment or
counseling.
Community-Based
Corrections
Community-based
corrections is an important
step in diverting criminals
to alternative modes of
punishment in order to ensure
that scarce incarceration resources are
consumed only by the most dangerous
criminals. Less serious offenders are
“strained” out (or diverted) from
incarceration.
Probation
Probation can
community under
be defined as
the supervision of
“… the legal
a probation service
status of an
for a designated
offender who,
period of time and
after being
Probation
subject to certain
convicted of a
conditions imposed
crime, has been
by the court or by
directed by the
the law.
sentencing court
to remain in the
Philosophy of Probation
• Based on the premise that the average offender
is not a danger to society
• Use of it eliminates the negative effects of the
prisonization process (socialization into prison
life)
• Gives offenders a second chance
Felony Sentences Imposed by State
Courts
Percentage of Felony Convictions
Straight
Probation
Split
Probation
Prison
Jail
No
Incarceration
All Offenses
29
29
29
10
3
Murder
5
11
83
1
0
Sexual
Assault
20
29
46
4
1
Aggravated
Assault
26
31
32
9
2
Burglary
27
27
36
8
2
Drug
Possession
28
37
21
12
2
Drug
Trafficking
25
31
30
11
2
Offense
Multiple Charges
On probation or parole
at time of arrest
Two orFactors
more
priors
Leading to
Probation
Addicted
toRevocation
narcotics
Seriously injured the
victim
Used a weapon during the
crime
Probation
Denied
Standard
Categories
of
Probation
Conditions
Punitive
Treatment
Conditions
of Probation
Special Conditions Imposed on Probationers
Federal Probation Supervision Levels
Therapeutic
Four
Types
of
Probation
Officers
Mediator
Punitive
Four Types of
Probation Officers
Bureaucratic
Probation is becoming progressively
more dangerous because...
• DEMOGRAPHICS
As probation is
increasingly offered to
felons, probation
officers find
themselves dealing
with a higher
percentage of violent
offenders.
• FIREARMS
With more guns on the
streets, the likelihood
that a probationer is
armed has increased
significantly
Revocation Process
Preliminary Hearing
Revocation Hearing
Revocation Sentencing
Is Probation Successful?
• Evidence is mixed
• Recidivism - what does it mean?
– Rearrest, reconviction, technical violations
• Serious offenders most likely to recidivate
• Probation recidivism is lower than prison
recidivism
What’s the Future of
Probation?
It will likely continue to be the most
popular alternative sentence because it is:
•
•
•
•
Flexible
Alleviates prison overcrowding
Cost effective
Allows for the imposition of probation
fees
Literacy Programs, Successful Probation
Completion, and Recidivism
The
Punishment
Ladder
Intermediate
sanctions allow
judges to fit
punishment to the
crime without
The Punishment
resorting to
a
prison
Ladder
sentence. They are
punitive because
they are
increasingly severe.
Death Penalty
Prison
Boot camps
Split sentences
Residential community center
Electronic monitoring
House arrest
Intensive probation
Restitution
Probation
Forfeiture
Fines
Supervision Fees
Fines as a Criminal Sanction
• Used more often in lesser
offenses or when financial
profits were high
• Fines may discriminate
against the poor
$
• Many fines go uncollected
$$$
Day Fines are based on
the seriousness of the offense
and the offenders ability to pay.
Community Service Orders
Sentences that order
offenders to work
without pay at projects
that benefit either the
public or public
charities.
Restitution
• Pay back to victims or
community service
• Used in 30% probation cases; the average is
$3400; 60% make full payment in 3 years
• Qualified success
• Widens the net of social control
Forfeiture as a Sanction
• Can be used in civil & criminal cases
• Seizure of goods & instrumentalities
related to the commission or outcome of a
criminal act
• Zero tolerance
• Proportionality
Day Reporting Centers
• Tools used to reduce jail
and prison overcrowding
• Individual must spend
all or part of each day at
a reporting center
• Makes more easy to
control and supervise
individuals
• These can be used as
tools of rehabilitation
Intensive Supervision
Probation
Considered as probation plus
Rely on great degree of client contact by
probation officer (smaller case loads)
Criteria for use vary throughout U.S.
Many systems use very specific conditions, e.g.
mandatory curfew, employment, drug testing,
community service, etc..
Effectiveness varies
Intensive Probation Goals
• Diversion from prison
• Maintain control of the individual
• Facilitate reintegration into the
community
Shock Incarceration
Judges sentence an
individual to a period of time
in an institution, many of
which resemble an army
boot camp. After a period
of incarceration the offender
may apply for probation.
Some states limit this option
to certain types of offenders.
Home Confinement
• Offender required to spend
extended periods of time in
one’s own home as an
alternative to incarceration
• Little standardization
throughout U.S. in how
house arrest is administered
Levels of
Home Confinement
• CURFEW
• HOME DETENTION
• HOME
INCARCERATION
Levels of Home Confinement
Electronic Monitoring
•
•
•
•
•
•
Often used to ensure compliance with house arrest
Similar recidivism to traditional systems
Costs are lower (capital v. labor)
Overcrowding is reduced
Issues of privacy and liberty
Compliance technologies vary
Boot Camps
(as forms of shock incarceration)
• Modeled after military basic training
• Emphasizes strict
Boot discipline, manual
labor and physical
Camps training
• Duration is relatively short
• Only available to certain offenders
• Failure results in incarceration in a
regular prison facility
Eligibility
Requirements of
Boot Camps in
the United States
Net Widening
As more and more alternatives to
incarceration are used, the criminal
justice system can expand the number of
people that can come under its
supervision.
Alternative Sentencing
Split sentences
Shock incarceration
Intermittent incarceration