CJAS6

Chapter 11 Outline

1. Community corrections

a. Defined: non-incarceration sanctions that allow offenders to maintain connections with support providers such as family and employers.

b. Examples include probation, parole, furloughs, halfway houses, electronic monitoring, etc.

2. Probation

a. Court sentence that allows offender to remain under community supervision as long as the individual complies with court sanctions and conditions

b. People

i. Probationer

ii. Probation officer

c. History

i. Term derived from Latin probatio meaning “to test or to prove”

ii. John Augustus is credited with starting probation; supervised offenders in the community with hopes of reforming them

iii. After the formation of the juvenile court in 1899, probation widely used with young offenders

iv. Probation is a sentence available in all states since at least 1956

d. Goals

i. Protect society by preventing additional crimes

1. Probation officers prepares presentence investigation report (PSI)

2. Used to make sentencing, treatment, supervision, and parole release decisions

ii. Help offenders

1. Monitor probationer behavior by enforcing conditions of probation

2. Revoke probation when necessary

a. Technical violations

b. New offenses

3. Act as referral agents linking probationer to support services

4. Probation officer can use discretion in deciding whether to pursue revocation; what happens at a hearing is up to the judge

3. Parole

a. Conditional release of prisoner to community supervision after serving some period of incarceration

b. Types of release

i. Discretionary

ii. Mandatory

c. Parolees must comply with conditions or face revocation

d. History

i. Modern parole linked to Zebulon Brockway in the late 1800s. Used community volunteers to supervised released offenders.

ii. Since 1970s, importance of parole boards have declined as sentences have shifted to determinate and mandatory sentences

e. Goals

i. Promote offender reformation

ii. Assist in transition from incarceration to the community

iii. Safety and security

iv. Consequences include diminished resources

4. Probation and parole officers

a. Serve dual roles of law enforcement officer and social worker

b. Role is determined by, among other factors, personality of the officer

c. Officers act as resource brokers

i. They are the primary supervisors

ii. Other are providing the actual services and treatment

d. Officer caseloads

i. Generalized

ii. Specialized

e. Due to the nature of the work, probation and parole services are considered open systems (rely on outside service providers)

5. Issues facing probation and parole

a. Agencies have not been overly successful in reducing recidivism

b. Possible explanations for limited successes

i. Funding

ii. Changing offender demographics

iii. Less individualization of conditions/treatments

iv. Paperwork

6. Adjusting to meet client needs

a. Allow officers to change conditions of supervision to fit needs

b. Avoid a policy or practice where all violations result in revocation

c. Strengthen collaborations with outside agencies

Reconsider number of restrictions on offenders