1. Probation, Parole, and Intermediate Sanctions12
Probation, Parole, and Intermediate Sanctions

2. Community Corrections
Officially ordered program-based sanctions that permit convicted offenders to remain in the community under conditional supervision as an alternative to an active prison sentence
Includes probation, parole, home confinement, electronic monitoring, and new programs in development

4. History of Probation John Augustus (1784-1859)
Boston businessman who offered to take selected offenders into his home as an alternative to imprisonment
In 1878, Massachusetts became the first state to authorize the hiring of a probation officer for the City of Boston
By 1925, all 48 states had adopted probation legislation

5. Definition of Probation
A sentence of imprisonment that is suspended
Also, the conditional freedom granted by a judicial officer to a convicted offender, as long as the person meets certain conditions of behavior

6. Conditions of Probation
General conditions apply to all probationers in a given jurisdiction
For example:
Obey all laws
Maintain employment
Remain in the jurisdiction
Possess no firearms
Allow probation officer to visit home and work

7. Conditions of Probation
Specific conditions
Surrender driver’s license
Submit to unannounced searches
Supply blood, urine, breath samples
Community service
Complete the GED
Treatment conditions: complete a treatment program within a set time

8. Parole
The supervised early release of inmates from correctional confinement
Supervised by a parole officer
Corrections strategy
Return offenders gradually to productive lives
Reentry

9. Two Models of Parole Parole board Statutory decrees
Discretionary release
Medical parole is increasing
Statutory decrees
Mandatory releases
Have increased 91% since 1990
California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, “Parole Revocations,”
Parole-Revocations.html (accessed April 5, 2013)

10. Advantages of Probation and Parole
Lower cost
Increased employment
Offenders who are released are able to contribute to the “free” economy when employed outside of prison
Restitution
Community support
Increased use of community services
Increased opportunity for rehabilitation

11. Disadvantages of Probation and Parole
Relative lack of punishment
When a convicted offender is released to the community on probation or parole, it poses a risk to the community
Increased social costs
Discriminatory and unequal effects

13. The Legal Environment
Annually, about 21% of adults on parole as well as 20% of those on probation throughout the United States have their conditional release revoked
Maruschak and Parks, Probation and Parole in the United States, 2011, Table 7

14. Some Significant Court Cases
Escoe v. Zerbst (1935)
Mempa v. Rhay (1967)
Morrissey v. Brewer (1972)
Gagnon v. Scarpelli (1973)
Griffin v. Wisconsin (1987)
Pennsylvania Board of Probation and Parole v. Scott (1998)

15. Probation and Parole Officers
Case workers with law enforcement powers who supervise convicted offenders in the community
Pre-sentence investigations
Other intake procedures
Diagnosis and needs assessment
Client supervision

16. Challenges of the Job Two conflicting sets of duties:
Provide social work services
Handle custodial responsibilities
Large caseloads
Lack of career mobility
Assigned to small geographic areas

17. National Institute of Justice
Major sources of stress:
High caseloads
Excess paperwork
Pressures associated with deadlines
Offenders who are sentenced to probation and released on parole today have committed more serious crimes than in the past
Also, more offenders have serious drug-abuse histories and show less hesitation in using violence
National Institute of Justice, Stress among Probation and Parole Officers and What Can Be Done about It (Washington, DC: NIJ, 2005)

18. Intermediate Sanctions
Split sentencing
Shock probation/parole
Shock incarceration
Community service
Intensive supervision
Home confinement

19. Advantages Less expensive to operate per offender than imprisonment
“Socially cost-effective” by keeping the offender in the community, avoiding family breakups
Flexibility in terms of resources, time of involvement, and place of service
Joan Petersilia, Expanding Options for Criminal Sentencing (Santa Monica, CA: RAND Corporation, 1987).

20. Sanctions Fines Probation Intensive supervision Home confinement
Electronic monitoring

21. Future of Probation and Parole
Release
Maxing out
Furlough
Study release
Work release
Temporary release

23. The Second Chance Act of 2008
Provides for the expenditure of $400 million in federal funds to break the cycle of criminal recidivism by assisting offenders reentering the community from incarceration to establish a self-sustaining and law-abiding life
Congressional Budget Office, “Cost Estimate: S. 1060, Second Chance Act of 2007,” p. 4, (accessed August 28, 2008).