Chapter 10 Community Sentences: Probation, Intermediate Sanctions, and Restorative Justice

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Chapter 10 Community Sentences
Probation,Intermediate Sanctions, and
Restorative Justice
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Learning Objectives

• Be familiar with the concept of community
  sentencing.
• Know the history community sentences.
• Recognize the different types of probation
  sentences.
• Be familiar with the rules of probation.
• Discuss the organization and administration of
  probation services.
• Define and discuss the term risk
  classification.
• Be familiar with the legal issues of probation.
• Debate probation effectiveness.
• Know what is meant by intermediate sanctions.
• Define restorative justice and discuss its merits.

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The History of Community Sentencing

• Traced to the Middle Ages
• Judicial reprieve
• Recognizance
• John Augustus

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Probation Today

• Criminal sentence that suspends or delays a
  correctional term
• Subject to rules and conditions

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Annual Probation Population and Entries to
Population
4,000,000
3,000,000
Number of probationers
2,000,000
1,000,000
0
1995
1999
2003
2006
Year
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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

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Awarding Probation

• Subject to a set of rules or conditions mandated
  by the court
• Violation of these conditions may result in
  revocation of probation requiring the original
  sentence to be served
• Technical violations are the major cause of
  revocations

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Conditions of Probation

• Conditions must serve to either protect society
  or rehabilitate offender
• Cannot be capricious or cruel

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Administration of Probation Services

• Independent, statewide, local, or a combination
• Juvenile and adult services can be separated or
  combined

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Elements of Probation

• Pre-sentence investigation
• Intake
• Diagnosis
• Treatment supervision
• Risk classification

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Legal Rights of Probationers

• 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
• Due process rights apply during revocation
  hearings

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How Successful is Probation?

• Most commonly used alternative sentence
• Less expensive than incarceration
• About 40 percent fail on probation most for
  technical violations of rules
• Recidivism rate is less than those sent to prison

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Intermediate Sanctions

• Between probation and prison
• Less costly
• Helps offender maintain family and community ties
• Structured to maximize security and maintain
  public security
• Scaled in severity to seriousness of crime
• Increased control over probationers
• Can be used as halfway-back strategies for those
  who violate conditions of their community release

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Punishment Ladder
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Fines

• Used more often in lesser offenses or when
  financial profits were high
• May discriminate against the poor
• Many go uncollected
• Day fines make the fine fit the offenders
  income

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Forfeiture

• Used in civil and criminal cases
• Civil forfeiture can be done without probable
  cause or any proof of a crime
• Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organization Act
  (RICO)
• Zero tolerance

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Restitution

• Monetary restitution or community service
  restitution
• Benefits the victim, the offender, and the
  community
• Most restitution clients successfully complete
  and do not recidivate

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Shock Probation and Split Sentencing

• Shock probation - offenders serve a short prison
  term before they begin probation
• Split sentence - spend a portion of their
  sentence behind bars and the remainder in the
  community
• Disagreement over whether these sanctions are
  useful

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Intensive Probation Supervision

• Goals
• Decarceration
• Control
• Reintegration
• Effectiveness varies failure rates appear to be
  high, but it works better for some clients than
  others
• More effective if combined with treatment
  modalities

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House Arrest

• Offender required to spend extended periods of
  time at home as an alternative to incarceration
• Little standardization throughout U.S.
• No definitive date indicating effectiveness

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Electronic Monitoring

• Often used to ensure compliance with house arrest
• Similar recidivism to traditional systems
• Lower costs, higher security
• Overcrowding is reduced

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Residential Community Corrections

• Usually non-secure buildings
• Residents work and/or attend school during the
  day, return to the center at night
• Used as pre-release center
• Provide a structured environment for treatment

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Restorative Justice

• Restoring the damage caused by crime
• Creating a system of justice which includes all
  parties harmed by the criminal act
• All crimes bring harm to the community
• Coercive punishment is inherently harmful to
  offenders

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Basic Principles of Restorative Justice
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Restoration in Practice

• Schools
• Police programs
• Pretrial programs
• Court programs

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Challenges of Restorative Justice

• Entry may favor whites over minorities
• Cultural and social differences may dictate what
  is restorative
• Lack of a common definition
• Balancing the needs of offenders with victims
• Programs focusing on offender may turn off victim
• Some believe victims rights are threatened by
  features of restorative justice