Community Corrections

 Community Corrections are the subfield of corrections in which offenders are supervised and provided services outside jail or prisons.

Their Goals  Providing guidance, support and program opportunities for all offenders returning to the community.  Holding offenders accountable to their imposed conditions, as they resume life within the community.  Collaborating and supporting community resources and parties with a vested interest in successful offender transition into the community

Staff Goals  They see that the offenders follow the rules of community sentences. This mean that they have to supervise offenders, investigate rule infractions, and take action to address any serious violations.

More Staff Roles  Other roles are to help offenders address their problems and needs. They counsel the offenders, identify problems and refer offenders to community agencies for help.

Probation  A sentence in which the offender is retained in the community under the supervision of a probation agency and to is required to go by certain rules.

 Probation is the most frequently used criminal sentence in America.  Probation can be thought of as a type of posttrial diversion from incarceration

Recidivism is getting higher each year because more people are going back to jail. If there are more caseloads then there is going to be a higher recidivism rate.

Types of Probation  Straight-when an offender is sentenced only to probation, with no incarceration or other form of residential placement.  Suspended sentence-the judge pronounces a jail or prison sentence but suspends the sentence on the condition that the offender performs well on probation.

Types Of Probation Continued  Split Sentence-the judge divides a single sentence into a relatively short jail term followed by probation supervision.  Shock Probation- usually involves two sentences. The offender is initially sentenced to prison but is soon recalled to court and placed on probation.

Types Of Probation Continued  Residential Probation-involves placement of the probationer in a structured, but generally open, living environment, such as a halfway house. When residential probation is used, it is common for the probationer to spend the early part of the sentence in the residential facility and then, upon successful discharge, to complete the probation sentence living in the free community.

Placement on Probation A judge usually considers a host of factors when deciding whether an offender should be sentenced, such as statues outlining eligibility for probation, structured sentencing guidelines, recommendations from the prosecuting and defense attorneys, the offender’s freedom or detention in jail before and during trial, the presentence investigation report prepared by the probation agency, and characteristics of the offender and offense.

The Presentence Investigation Conducted by the probation agency at the request of the judge, usually during the period between the finding or plea of guilt and sentencing. The main tasks of the inquiry are to estimate the risk the offender presents to the community and to determine the offender’s treatment needs.

Pretense Investigation Continued  Here is a sample Pretense Investigation Checklist  1. A face sheet of indentifying demographic date.  2. A discussion of the instant or current offense as perceived by the police, the victim, and the offender.  3. A summary of the offender’s prior legal record.  4. An overview of the offender’s past and present social and psychological functioning.  5. The probation officer’s evaluation of the offender and the officer’s recommendation for an appropriate sentence.

Probation Chart  States with the largest probation populations. Georgia 435,361 Texas 434,309 California 353,969 Florida 274,079 Ohio 254,898 Michigan 182,706 Pennsylvania 176,987 Massachusetts 175,419 Illinois 142,790 Minnesota 127,797 States with the Highest Rates of Supervision Georgia 6,144 Idaho 4,405 Massachusetts 3,484 Minnesota 3,226 Rhode Island 3,167 Ohio 2,917 Indiana 2,646 Delaware 2,513 Texas 2,485 Michigan 2,392

Probation Chart Continued  States with the Highest Rates of Supervision. New Hampshire 454 West Virginia 553 Utah 584 Nevada 697 Minnesota 754 Kansas 771 New York 804 Virginia 877 North Dakota 896 South Dakota 972

Parole  A method of prison release whereby inmates are released at the discretion of a board or other authority before having completed there entire sentence.

Probation & Parole  Parole is not a court- imposed sentence, and parole is used with persons leaving prisons  Parole release- releasing the inmate from prison at the discretion of a parole board before his sentence expires.  Parole supervision- involves supervision of the released offender in the community.

Types of parole  Straight parole- offenders are released from prison directly into the community under supervision of the parole agency.  Residential parole- offenders serve part of the parole term in a community residential facilities or half way house.

Objectives  Parole is meant to provide community safety and to promote offender betterment and reintegration into society. To relieve and contain prison crowding. And to control the behavior of prison inmates.

Parole Guidelines  Structured instruments used to estimate the probability of parole recidivism and to direct the release decisions of parole boards.

Georgia Parole Guidelines Parole Decisions Guidelines, Time to Serve GRID RiskLow (-5 to +2)Medium (3 - 6)High (7+)Risk CSLLowMidHighLowMidHighLowMidHighCSL % of sentence75% of sentence90% of sentence8

Factors of Parole 1. Seriousness of the current offense. 2. History of prior violent behavior. 3. Prior felony convictions. 4. Use of firearm in committing the current offense.

Virginia Parole Board Decisions: 2012 Month/YearGranted ParoleNot GrantedRevoked 2012Number January4 February9