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Chapter 12
Community Corrections
Community Corrections:
Definition and Scope
Community corrections is sometimes
referred to as noninstitutional corrections.
community corrections
The subfield of corrections in which offenders are
supervised and provided services outside jail or
prison.
Community Corrections:
Definition and Scope
Community corrections includes:
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Diversion
Restitution
Probation
Parole
Halfway houses
Goals and Staff Roles
Community corrections has traditionally
emphasized rehabilitation as its goal.
Goals and Staff Roles
The staff of community correctional programs
have two potentially competing roles that
reflect different goals:
1. Seeing that offenders
comply with the orders
of community sentences.
2. Helping offenders
identify and address their
problems and needs.
Probation
One of the most common forms of community
correction is probation.
• Probation can be thought of as a type of
posttrial diversion from incarceration.
probation
A sentence in which the offender, rather than being
incarcerated, is retained in the community under the
supervision of a probation agency and required to
abide by certain rules and conditions to avoid
incarceration.
Probation
A probation agency has three fundamental
objectives:
1. Assist the court in matters pertaining to sentencing
2. Promote community protection by supervising and
monitoring the activities of persons on probation
3. Promote the betterment of offenders by ensuring
that they receive appropriate rehabilitation services
Historical Context
The “father” of probation was John Augustus,
a Boston shoemaker.
In the 1840s, Augustus stood bail for select
offenders and promised to monitor their
activities and report to the judge.
His actions led to the first formal
probation law in 1878.
Placement on Probation
In deciding whether an offender should be
sentenced to probation, a judge considers:
• Statute recommendations
• Structured sentencing guidelines
• Recommendations from the prosecuting and
defense attorneys
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Placement on Probation
• The offender’s freedom or detention in jail before
and during trial
• Presentence investigation report
• Characteristics of the offender and offense
The Presentence Investigation
The main task of the presentence
investigation (PSI) is to estimate the risk the
offender presents to the community and to
determine the offender’s treatment needs.
presentence investigation (PSI)
An investigation conducted by a probation agency or
other designated authority at the request of a court
into the past behavior, family circumstances, and
personality of an adult who has been convicted of a
crime, to assist the court in determining the most
appropriate sentence.
The Probation Order
There are two types of probation conditions:
• Standard (general) conditions apply to all
persons on probation
• Special conditions are imposed at the
discretion of the judge and probation
officials and are designed to address the
offender’s particular situation.
The Probation Order
In recent years it has become increasingly
common for jurisdictions to include
restitution orders as part of probation.
restitution
Money paid or services provided to victims, their
survivors, or to the community by a convicted
offender to make up for the injury inflicted.
Termination of Probation
Ultimately, the probation agency must make
recommendations to the court about how
probation is to be terminated.
• Probationers who have generally fulfilled the
conditions of their sentences are recommended for
successful discharges.
• Probationers who have violated the conditions of
probation may be recommended for revocation.
revocation
The repeal of a probation sentence or parole, and
substitution of a more restrictive sentence, because of
violation of probation or parole conditions.
Termination of Probation
Revocation can be recommended for two
general categories of violations:
• Commission of new offenses
• Technical violations
technical violations
Failure to abide by the technical rules or conditions
of probation or parole (for example, not reporting
regularly to the probation officer), as distinct from
commission of a new criminal act.
Caseload and Recidivism
• It is not unusual for probation officers in
larger urban jurisdictions to have as many
as 200 offenders in their caseloads.
• Large caseloads have been criticized for
contributing to recidivism.
Parole
There are two basic differences between
probation and parole:
• Parole is not a court-imposed sentence, and
• Parole is used with persons leaving prison.
parole
A method of prison release whereby inmates are
released at the discretion of a board or other authority
before having completed their entire sentences; can
also refer to the community supervision received
upon release.
Parole
Parole can be divided into two components:
• Parole release is the mechanism for
releasing persons from prison.
• Parole supervision is a community-based
continuation of the prison sentence.
Administration
It is helpful to divide parole administration
into two areas:
Parole board
• Responsible for
release decisions
Field service agency
• Responsible for
supervision in the
community
Administration
As with probation, there are many differences
between states in the way parole is
administered, its organization, and it level of
autonomy.
Parole Issues
Since the 1970s, discretionary parole release
has been among the most controversial issues
in criminal justice.
• Proponents argue that early release
provisions are essential for controlling
prisoners’ behavior and for containing
institutional crowding.
Parole Issues
Several criticisms have been directed at parole
release:
• Parole undermines both retribution and
deterrence.
• Parole does not sufficiently guarantee public
safety.
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Parole Issues
• Parole is unfair because offenders with similar
sentences serve vastly different prison terms.
• Linking the degree of participation in prison
treatment programs to the possibility of early
parole amounts to subtly coercing inmates into
programs that are often of questionable
effectiveness.
Parole Issues
Many jurisdictions have curtailed
discretionary parole release.
• Many jurisdictions moved to determinate
sentencing and increased reliance on
mandatory release.
• Some states have abolished early release by
discretion of a parole board for all
offenders.
Intermediate Sanctions
Recent dramatic increases in prison, parole,
and probation populations have forced
community corrections to accommodate
growing numbers of offenders.
The field has also seen a decline in support for
rehabilitation, and a growth in the trend
toward intermediate sanctions.
intermediate sanctions
Sanctions that, in restrictiveness and punitiveness, lie
between traditional probation and traditional
imprisonment or, alternatively, between
imprisonment and traditional parole.
Intensive-Supervision
Probation and Parole (ISP)
One intermediate sanction is intensivesupervision probation and parole (ISP).
intensive-supervision probation and parole (ISP)
An alternative to incarceration that provides stricter
conditions, closer supervision, and more treatment
services than traditional probation and parole.
Day Reporting Centers
One relatively new facet of the intermediatesanction movement is day reporting centers.
day reporting centers
Facilities that are designed for offenders who would
otherwise be in prison or jail and that require
offenders to report regularly to confer with staff
about supervision and treatment matters.
Structured Fines, or Day Fines
Another relatively new intermediate sanction
is structured fines or day fines.
structured fines or day fines
Fines that are based on defendants’ ability to pay.
Home Confinement and
Electronic Monitoring
Home confinement is also known as home
incarceration, home detention, and house
arrest.
Home confinement is usually considered more
punitive than ISP, but is often used in
conjunction with ISP.
home confinement
A program that requires offenders to remain in their
homes except for approved periods of absence;
commonly used in combination with electronic
monitoring.
Halfway Houses
The goal of halfway houses is to provide
offenders with a temporary period of highly
structured and supportive living so that they
will be better prepared to function
independently in the community upon
discharge.
halfway houses
Community-based residential facilities that are less
secure and restrictive than prison or jail but provide a
more controlled environment than other community
correctional programs.