1. Chapter 12 Community Sentences: Probation, Intermediate Sanctions, and Restorative Justice

2. The Menu of Choices
Punishment can range from little to death

3. Probation
A criminal sentence mandating that an offender be placed and maintained in the community
Subject to certain rules and conditions

4. Probation (cont.) The History of Probation
Traced back to English common law
Judicial reprieve – allows judges to suspend punishment so that convicted offenders could seek a pardon, gather new evidence, or demonstrate they had reformed
Recognizance – enabled convicted offender to remain free if they entered into a debt obligation with the state
John Augustus – the “father of probation”
1878 – Massachusetts passed a law for paid probation officers

5. Probation (cont.) 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

6. Probation (cont.) Approximately 2,000 probation agencies nationwide
Half of the probation agencies are at the county or municipal government level
Almost 30 states combine probation and parole supervision into a single agency
About 4 million people are currently on probation
Number has grown almost 2 percent each year since 1994

7. Probation (cont.)
Probationers are subject to a set of probation rules or conditions mandated by the court
Keep a job, contact probation officer, have a place of residence, do not go certain places (e.g., bars; no guns)
Violation of these conditions may result in revocation of probation requiring the original sentence to be served
Technical violations (terms of probation) rather than new crimes committed by probationer are the major cause of revocations

8. Probation (cont.)
In approximately half the cases there is a direct sentence to probation without the threat of prison
Subsequent violations will result in harsh punishment
In 30 percent of the cases judges use a suspended sentence as part of probation

9. Probation (cont.) Conditions of probation
Standard conditions apply to all offenders in a jurisdiction
Special conditions are required on a case-by-case basis – substance abuse treatment
Conditions must serve to either protect society or rehabilitate offender
Cannot be capricious or cruel

10. Probation (cont.) Administration of probation services
Statewide probation services
Local probation services
Combination
Juvenile and adult services can be separated or combined

11. Probation (cont.) Duties of probation officers:
Pre-sentence Investigation Reports
Intake
Diagnosis
Treatment supervision
Risk classification
Maintain contact with probationer

12. Probation (cont.) Legal rights of probationers
Entitled to 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 – probation officer can enter home at any time without warrant
Due process rights apply during revocation hearings

13. Probation (cont.) How successful is probation?
Most commonly used alternative sentence
Less expensive than incarceration
30 to 40 percent fail on probation – most for technical violations of rules
Recidivism rate is less than those sent to prison
Probation officers have heavy case loads
Treatment and helping probationers is largely a myth

14. Probation (cont.) How successful is probation?
People with stable home environment and employment are most likely to succeed
Those with a prior criminal history, prior probation, and previous incarcerations are most likely to fail
Males convicted on sexual offenses appear to do well on probation

15. Probation (cont.) Future of probation
Imposition of fees on probationers to defray costs
Hotspot probation initiatives – community supervision teams
Organizing caseloads around geographic area rather than offender type

16. Intermediate Sanctions
Add additional sanctions to traditional probation sentences
May include monetary fines, intensive supervision, house arrest, electronic monitoring, restitution, boot camps, shock probation, etc
Allows judges to fit punishment to the crime without resorting to a prison sentence

17. Intermediate Sanctions (cont.)
Believed to be cost effective alternatives to incarceration
Can serve the needs of a number of offender groups to reduce overcrowding in jails/prisons
Can be used as halfway back strategies for those who violate conditions of probation or parole

18. Intermediate Sanctions (cont.)
Fines
Monetary punishment
Used more often in lesser offenses or when financial profits were high
Fines may discriminate against the poor
Many fines go uncollected
Day fines – make the fine fit the offender’s income; equalize the pain of fines
The money from fines goes to the state, not the victims

19. Intermediate Sanctions (cont.)
Forfeiture
Can be used in civil and criminal cases
Civil forfeiture can be done without probable cause or any proof by government of a crime
Seizure of goods and instrumentalities related to the commission or outcome of a criminal act
Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organization (RICO)
Zero tolerance

20. Intermediate Sanctions (cont.)
Restitution
Pay back to victims or society
monetary restitution or community service restitution
Benefits the victim, the offender (symbolically), and the community
Most restitution clients successfully complete their orders and do not recidivate
The money, goods or services from restitution goes to the victim or community, not the state

21. Intermediate Sanctions (cont.)
Shock probation: sentence in which offenders serve a short prison term before they begin probation to impress on them the pains of imprisonment
Split sentence: Practice that requires convicted criminals to spend a portion of their sentence behind bars and the remainder in the community
Disagreement over whether these two sanctions are helpful or harmful

22. Boots Camps Mainly for juvenile and non-serious adult offenders
Frequently offered as alternative to prison by the judge
Confinements tend to be short
Mainly focus on discipline and physical activities
Try to teach life skills
Effectiveness varies – most boot campers return to their prior lives

23. Intermediate Sanctions (cont.)
Intensive probation supervision – goals
Diversion from prison/decarceration
Maintain control of the individual
Facilitate reintegration into the community

24. Intermediate Sanctions (cont.)
Intensive probation supervision
Rely on great degree of client contact by probation officer
Reduce case loads for probation officers and increase their ability to supervise probationers
Criteria for use vary throughout U.S.
Many systems use very specific conditions (e.g. mandatory curfew, employment, drug testing, community service, etc.)
Effectiveness varies – failure rates appear to be high

25. Intermediate Sanctions (cont.)
House arrest
Offender required to spend extended periods of time in one’s own home as an alternative to incarceration
Little standardization throughout U.S. in how house arrest is administered

26. Intermediate Sanctions (cont.)
Electronic monitoring
Often used to ensure compliance with house arrest
Similar recidivism to traditional systems
Costs are lower
Overcrowding is reduced
Issues of privacy and liberty
Compliance technologies vary

27. Intermediate Sanctions (cont.)
Residential community corrections
Usually non-secure buildings
Residents work and/or attend school during the day and return to the center at night
Used to provide structured environment for treatment
Many are used as day reporting centers for nonresidential clients

28. Drug Courts Developed in the 1990s
Instead of sentencing drug offenders to prison, develop a program of treatment for the drug offender.
Offender is offered the option to take the treatment instead of prison.
Drug courts combine the carrot and the stick .
Treatment groups can involve different agencies and private groups.
Sentence is served when treatment is completed.
Drug courts seem to be more effective in preventing further drug use than prison or other sentences.

29. Programs and Problems

30. Restorative Justice
Policy based on restoring the damage caused by crime and creating a system of justice which includes all parties harmed by the criminal act
Victim
Offender
Community
Criminal justice practitioners
Society
Stress mediation and reconciliation

31. Restorative Justice (cont.)
All crimes bring harm to the community, disrupt social relations, create conflict, and disharmony
The traditional justice system does not Involve the community in the justice process
Our focus on punishment, stigma, and disgrace of the offender prohibits us from repairing the harm caused by crime

32. Restorative Justice (cont.)
Restoration Programs
Sentencing circles
School programs to avoid expulsion
Police programs to deal with the crime when it is first encountered
Courts to divert offenders from the formal criminal justice process
Vermont Sentencing Boards
Family Groups Conferences
Navajo Peacemaker Court

33. Restorative Justice (cont.)
Challenges
Entry into programs may favor whites over minorities
Cultural and social differences may dictate what is “restorative”
Lack of a common definition of “restorative”
Balancing the needs of offenders with those of the victims
Strikes many people as being overly optimistic about the nature of offenders
Can it be used for more serious crimes
Difficult to maintain involvement of community in programs