Chapter 9

1. Chapter 9 Nonresidential Community Supervision Programs

2. Intensive Supervision and Specialized Caseloads • Intensive supervision probation/parole (ISP) is an enhanced form of supervision that subjects offenders to closer surveillance, more conditions, and more treatment exposure than regular probationers and parolees.. • ISP was designed for high-risk, high-need offenders who were released from prison or those offenders who needed a more intensive community sentence in lieu of prison. LO: 1

3. Specialized Caseloads • ISP is also known today as specialized caseloads. • Specialized caseloads are a supervision strategy for specific types of high-risk offenders such as sex offenders and known gang members. LO: 1

4. History of ISP • The use of ISP began in California in the 1950s under the assumption that increased contact would improve rehabilitation efforts and provide a viable alternative to incarceration. • The focus at that time was to determine the ideal number of probationers that one officer could effectively rehabilitate. LO: 1

5. Emergence of Contemporary ISP • ISP re-emerged in the 1980s. • This time, however, ISP was a way to keep tighter control on probationers and parolees and alleviate jail and prison crowding caused by abrupt changes in sentencing practices. • Officers who supervised ISP clients had smaller caseloads. LO: 1

6. Evaluations of ISP • The costs of ISP programs are definitely greater than regular probation, but the key to cost savings lies in whether ISP can produce a cost savings over those destined for prison. • Most evaluation studies have shown that ISP, as currently administered, is not cost effective. LO: 1

7. Changes in ISP Model • Combine intensive supervision with intensive forms of cognitive-behavioral treatment to significantly lower recidivism. • Choose high-risk offenders as opposed to low-risk offenders for ISP. • There must be clear guidelines that treat change as a process and allow for a certain degree of noncompliance to allow offenders (especially ones who are not dangerous) to complete the program. LO: 1

8. Evaluations of ISP • The costs of ISP programs are definitely greater than regular probation, but the key to cost savings lies in whether ISP can produce a cost savings over those destined for prison. • Most evaluation studies have shown that ISP, as currently administered, is not cost effective. • Technical violations that sent ISP offenders to prison doubled the actual cost of ISP. LO: 3

9. Moving to Specialized Caseloads • The method by which cases are initially assigned to an officer’s caseload has been integral to further success. • Cases are assigned based on offense type first • Then based on geographic zip code. • This allows officers to become true experts in both supervision and treatment for this particular type of client. LO: 2

10. House Arrest • House arrest is an intermediate sanction designed to confine pretrial detainees or convicted offenders to their homes during the hours when they are not at work, attending a treatment program, or visiting a supervising officer. • For convicted offenders, house arrest is typically either a condition of ISP or is coupled with electronic monitoring. LO: 2

11. Purposes of Home Detention • House arrest is otherwise known as home detention or home confinement; it is neither a new concept nor a U.S. innovation. • Galileo (1564–1642) was placed under house arrest by church authorities for his heretical assertion that the earth revolved around the sun. • It was used in the 1980s as an alternative to incarceration for pretrial detainees and a means of easing jail overcrowding while ensuring appearance in court. LO: 2

12. Criticisms of House Arrest • It does not seem to be a punishment. • The intrusiveness of house arrest violates a pretrial detainee’s constitutional right to privacy in the home, especially one occupied by other family members. • Offenders can still commit crimes from their house. LO: 1

13. Effectiveness of House Arrest • Offenders on house arrest are twice as likely as regular parolees to have their parole revoked for a technical violation • Failure rates and absconding rates compared with other pretrial programs for state offenders, are similar. • On a positive note, house arrest allows pretrial defendants the chance to keep working and supporting their families without interruption caused by incarceration. LO: 2

14. Electronic Monitoring • Electronic monitoring (EM) is a correctional technology used in intensive supervision probation, specialized parole, day reporting centers, and house arrest. • EM can also be used for defendants who have not yet been convicted but require an elevated level of supervision while out on bond or pretrial supervision. LO: 2

15. History of Electronic Monitoring • Robert Schwitzgebel at the University of California developed electronic monitoring technology in the 1960s during the deinstitutionalization movement of the mentally ill. • The idea for use of EM devices in the criminal justice system was inspired by New Mexico judge Jack Love, who saw how the comic book character Spiderman was tracked by a wrist transmitter. LO: 1

16. Problems with Early EM • Early electronic monitoring programs required that offenders had a landline telephone. • Critics asserted this discriminated against indigent offenders who could not afford it. • Home-bound EM systems were not able to track where offenders went once they left their home. • There was no guarantee that the probation office was actually communicating with the “correct” person. LO: 3

17. EM Expenses • A single home-based EM transmitter and receiver system costs $50,000 for the equipment plus operating costs. • Offenders help subsidize the operating costs by paying a monthly fee of $10 per day. The cost effectiveness of electronic monitoring depends on the custody level of the comparison group and how revocations are handled. LO: 3

18. Global Positioning Systems • GPS uses 24 military satellites that orbit the earth and 5 ground control stations to pinpoint locations anywhere in the world using data coordinates. • Offenders wear a permanent ankle bracelet, and they also carry a GPS receiver containing a microprocessor and antennae and a battery charging unit. LO: 1

19. Active and Passive • Active GPS systems transmit the data through wireless networks like a cell phone. Active systems are also known as real-time units, because data can be transmitted often with a short lag time. • In a passive GPS system, the daytime tracking data is temporarily stored and downloaded at night through a land-line phone while the offender is sleeping. LO: 1

20. GPS Zones • The microprocessor inside the receiver also allows the probation officer to use software to program in exclusionzones and/or inclusion zones. • An exclusion zone would be the residence and workplace of an identified victim. • An inclusion zone would be the offender’s place of employment or school. LO: 2

21. Costs of GPS • The primary drawback is cost. • Real-time active GPS systems cost $10-$16 for the equipment, while passive GPS costs $5 per day. • It is still less expensive than building new facilities. LO: 3

22. Day Reporting Centers • Day reporting centers (DRCs) are a type of outpatient program based on a 3 phase levels system where offenders report daily for a variety of treatment programs, itinerary, and random drug testing. • Day reporting centers are like a “one-stop shop” with all the resources and educational programs in one place. LO: 2

23. DRCs • Day centers have been popular in England and Wales since the 1970s and began to appear in the United States in 1985. • Connecticut and Massachusetts were among the first states to adopt day reporting centers. • Most DRC programs exist in states that do not have ISP as a sentencing option. LO: 2

24. Treatment v. Supervision DRCs • Treatment-oriented DRCs provide a wide range of services all on an outpatient basis. The most common services were job-seeking skills/job placement, drug abuse education/treatment, psychological counseling, life skills training, and GED education classes/literacy. • Supervision-oriented DRCs ensure that clients are abiding the rules, ensure accountability through itineraries, and keep them busy so they do not have the time or opportunity to engage in criminal activity. LO: 2