Chapter 14

Summary:
Community corrections is the locally operated services that offer minimum-security, work-release alternatives to prisoners about to be paroled.  Alternatives to incarceration are sentences imposed by judges other than incarceration, such as probation, parole, shock probation, or house arrest.  Probation is an alternative to incarceration where the convict remains out of jail or prison and in the community and thus on the job, with family, and so, while subject to conditions and supervision of the probation authority.  Probations roots are in biblical times and the practice of judicial reprieve was used in English courts to serve as a temporary suspension of sentence to allow the defendant to appeal to the Crown for a pardon.  Parole is the early release of a prisoner, who must then comply with certain terms and conditions for a specified period of time.  Judges have to consider a number of different factors when deciding probation and parole for offenders, including the nature and seriousness of the current offense, the length and seriousness of the offender’s prior record, and the offender’s previous successes or failures on probation or parole.  If a probationer does not comply with the conditions set forth, there are 2 possible violations.  A technical violation is where one violates certain conditions that must be obeyed to remain out of prison, such as curfew violation, drug or alcohol use, or not maintaining a job.  A substantive violation occurs when the probationer commits a new criminal offense.  Certain rights are also afforded probationers who are about to undergo a probation revocation hearing, including notice of the alleged violation, the right to present evidence, and a written report of the hearing. Morrissey v. Brewer held in that year that parolees who faced the possibility of losing their freedom possessed certain rights under the Fourteenth Amendment.  In summation, supervision generally works, but there remains work to do in terms of keeping parolees and probationers from reoffending for drug abuse.  Probation is considered a “front end” program in that it monitors behavior in community and compliance with conditions of probation of those offenders with suspended prison sentences.  Parole is considered a “back end” program because it supervises those who have been released from prison.  Large caseloads can affect the quality of supervision that an officer is able to provide.  Whether probation and parole officers should be armed has also been debated. Intermediate sanctions are a form of punishment that is between freedom and prison, such as home confinement and day reporting.  These include Intensive supervision probation and parole (ISP), house arrest, electronic monitoring, shock probation and parole, boot camps, shock incarceration, and day reporting centers.  Restorative justice is the view that crime affects the entire community, which must be healed and made whole again through the offender’s remorse, community service, restitution to the offender, and other such activities.

Objectives:

• Describe what is meant by community corrections
   
• Describe the definitions, origins, and differences between probation and parole, as well as the rights accorded people who are serving terms of probation and parole
   
• Explain why the criminal justice system uses alternatives to incarceration
   
• Explain the functions of probation and parole officers— and the impact of high caseloads
   
• Review the process used when the state wishes to remove a probationer’s or parolee’s freedom
   
• Delineate several reasons for and against probation and parole officers being armed
   
• Explain the purposes and functions of intermediate sanctions, including intensive supervision, house arrest, electronic monitoring, shock incarceration/boot camps, and day reporting centers
   
• Explain the rationale that underlies the use of restorative justice

Outline:

• Community corrections
   
  • Locally operated services that offer minimum-security, work-release alternatives to prisoners about to be paroled
     
• Why Alternatives to Incarceration
   
  • A sentence imposed by a judge other than incarceration, such as probation, parole, shock probation, or house arrest
     
  • Support for alternatives
     
  • To be effective, a real alternative needs to have 3 elements:
     
  • Endorsed by The President’s Commission on Law Enforcement and Administration of Justice
     
• Origins of Probation and Parole
   
  • Probation Begins: The Humble Shoe Cobbler
     
  • Parole Origins: Alexander Maconochie
     
• Probation and Parole Today
   
  • Probation: Eligibility and Rights
     
  • Parole: Eligibility and Rights
     
• Do Probation and Parole Work?
   
  • People under probation or parole supervision accounted for 22 percent of total arrests—which means that nearly 8 of 10 arrestees were not supervised
     
  • One in three arrests for drug crimes involved someone who was on probation or parole
     
  • during the study period the number of total arrests declined by 18 percent, while the number of arrests of people who were under supervision declined by 40 percent—61 percent for persons on parole and 26 percent for individuals under probation supervision
     
• Functions of Probation and Parole Officers
   
  • Probation and “Front End” Duties
     
  • Parole and “Back End” Duties
     
  • The Burden of Large Caseloads
     
  • To Arm or Not to Arm
     
• Other Alternatives: Intermediate Sanctions
   
  • Intermediate sanctions
     
  • Intensive Supervision Probation and Parole
     
  • House Arrest
     
  • Electronic Monitoring
     
  • Shock Probation/Parole
     
  • Boot Camps/Shock Incarceration
     
  • Day Reporting Centers
     
• Restorative Justice
   
  • The view that crime affects the entire community, which must be healed and made whole again through the offender’s remorse, community service, restitution to the offender, and other such activities
     
  • Guiding principles
     
  • Fundamental precept of restorative justice is as follows: