Chapter 10 Community Sentences: Probation, Intermediate Sanctions, and Restorative Justice

1. Chapter 10 Community Sentences: Probation,Intermediate Sanctions, and Restorative Justice

2. Learning Objectives • Be familiar with the concept of community sentencing. • Know the history community sentences. • Recognize the different types of probation sentences. • Be familiar with the rules of probation. • Discuss the organization and administration of probation services. • Define and discuss the term “risk classification.” • Be familiar with the legal issues of probation. • Debate probation effectiveness. • Know what is meant by intermediate sanctions. • Define restorative justice and discuss its merits.

3. The History of Community Sentencing • Traced to the Middle Ages • Judicial reprieve • Recognizance • John Augustus

4. Probation Today • Criminal sentence that suspends or delays a correctional term • Subject to rules and conditions

5. Annual Probation Population and Entries to Population Yearend 4,000,000 3,000,000 Annual entries Number of probationers 2,000,000 1,000,000 0 1995 1999 2003 2006 Year

6. Philosophy of Probation • The average offender is not actually dangerous • Institutionalization prohibits successful adjustments of behavior once returned to society • Even dangerous offenders can be rehabilitated in the community given the proper balance of supervision, treatment, and control • It is cheaper than imprisonment

7. Awarding Probation • Subject to a set of rules or conditions mandated by the court • Violation of these conditions may result in revocation of probation requiring the original sentence to be served • Technical violations are the major cause of revocations

8. Conditions of Probation • Conditions must serve to either protect society or rehabilitate offender • Cannot be capricious or cruel

9. Administration of Probation Services • Independent, statewide, local, or a combination • Juvenile and adult services can be separated or combined

10. Elements of Probation • Pre-sentence investigation • Intake • Diagnosis • Treatment supervision • Risk classification

11. Legal Rights of Probationers • Fewer constitutional protections • Some rules on self-incrimination before a probation officer do not apply • Rules on search and seizure are not always the same • Due process rights apply during revocation hearings

12. How Successful is Probation? • Most commonly used alternative sentence • Less expensive than incarceration • About 40 percent fail on probation – most for technical violations of rules • Recidivism rate is less than those sent to prison

13. Intermediate Sanctions • Between probation and prison • Less costly • Helps offender maintain family and community ties • Structured to maximize security and maintain public security • Scaled in severity to seriousness of crime • Increased control over probationers • Can be used as halfway-back strategies for those who violate conditions of their community release

14. Punishment Ladder Death penalty Prison Split sentencing Residential community center Electronic monitoring House arrest Intensive probation Restitution Probation Forfeiture Fines Pretrial release Restorative justice

15. Fines • Used more often in lesser offenses or when financial profits were high • May discriminate against the poor • Many go uncollected • Day fines – make the fine fit the offender’s income

16. Forfeiture • Used in civil and criminal cases • Civil forfeiture can be done without probable cause or any proof of a crime • Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organization Act (RICO) • Zero tolerance

17. Restitution • Monetary restitution or community service restitution • Benefits the victim, the offender, and the community • Most restitution clients successfully complete and do not recidivate

18. Shock Probation and Split Sentencing • Shock probation - offenders serve a short prison term before they begin probation • Split sentence - spend a portion of their sentence behind bars and the remainder in the community • Disagreement over whether these sanctions are useful

19. Intensive Probation Supervision • Goals: • Decarceration • Control • Reintegration • Effectiveness varies – failure rates appear to be high, but it works better for some clients than others • More effective if combined with treatment modalities

20. House Arrest • Offender required to spend extended periods of time at home as an alternative to incarceration • Little standardization throughout U.S. • No definitive date indicating effectiveness

21. Electronic Monitoring • Often used to ensure compliance with house arrest • Similar recidivism to traditional systems • Lower costs, higher security • Overcrowding is reduced

22. Residential Community Corrections • Usually non-secure buildings • Residents work and/or attend school during the day, return to the center at night • Used as pre-release center • Provide a structured environment for treatment

23. Restorative Justice • Restoring the damage caused by crime • Creating a system of justice which includes all parties harmed by the criminal act • All crimes bring harm to the community • Coercive punishment is inherently harmful to offenders

24. Basic Principles of Restorative Justice

25. Restoration in Practice • Schools • Police programs • Pretrial programs • Court programs

26. Challenges of Restorative Justice • Entry may favor whites over minorities • Cultural and social differences may dictate what is “restorative” • Lack of a common definition • Balancing the needs of offenders with victims • Programs focusing on offender may turn off victim • Some believe victim’s rights are threatened by features of restorative justice