12-1 The Justifications for Community Corrections
12-1 The Justifications for Community Corrections
Learning Objective 1
Explain the justifications for community-based corrections programs.
David Fornshell, a prosecutor from Warren County, Ohio, notes that emotions can run high in response to pet cruelty cases, with community members sometimes urging him to seek the death penalty. He states that when an offender harms an animal, "people are outside with their pitchforks."
American judges have numerous sentencing options that keep offenders out of prison and jail, even for felonies considered more serious than animal cruelty. For example, about 3.5 million offenders are serving their sentences in the community on probation, and approximately 875,000 convicts in the United States have been paroled, finishing their prison sentences under the supervision of correctional officers.
According to University of Minnesota law professor Michael Tonry, America is preoccupied with the "absolute severity of punishment" and the "widespread view that only imprisonment counts." Consequently, community corrections like probation and parole are often seen as less severe and less worthy alternatives to imprisonment. However, community corrections are crucial to our criminal justice system. One in fifty-eight adults in the U.S. is living under community supervision, highlighting the pressing need to successfully reintegrate these offenders into society.
12-1a Reintegration
Core Principle: The corrections system aims to build strong connections between offenders and the community, facilitating their integration into society by:
Restoring family relationships.
Helping them secure employment and education.
Ensuring the offender finds a stable role within the community.
Recidivism Rates:
Studies suggest that offenders exposed to prison culture may experience higher rates of recidivism.
Community-based corrections offer a way to reintegrate offenders into society more effectively.
Theoretical Basis in Rehabilitation:
Reintegration aligns with rehabilitative theories of punishment.
Offenders are deemed rehabilitated when they no longer pose a threat and are ready to live in the community.
Reintegration as a Process:
Criminal justice officials, such as probation and parole officers, use incentives to encourage offenders to follow societal rules.
Positive incentives include enrolling offenders in drug treatment programs.
Negative incentives involve the threat of returning to prison or jail for non-compliance.
Balancing Needs:
Criminal justice professionals must balance the needs of individual offenders with the rights of law-abiding community members.
Learning Objective Considerations:
Justifications for Community-Based Corrections: Community corrections are justified by their ability to reintegrate offenders, reduce recidivism compared to imprisonment, and rehabilitate offenders through supportive and incentive-based programs. These efforts ensure public safety while supporting the offender's return to society.
12-1b Diversion: Justification for Community-Based Corrections
Overview:
Core Concept: Diversion programs serve as a practical justification for community-based corrections by addressing less serious offenses without resorting to imprisonment.
Relieving Pressure: These programs alleviate strain on overloaded courts and overcrowded correctional facilities.
Target Group: Focus on low-risk, nonviolent offenders, sparing them from the harsh consequences of incarceration.
Benefits of Diversion Programs:
Job Training and Counseling: Offer offenders opportunities for job training, counseling, and substance abuse treatment.
Addressing Root Causes: Tackle the underlying causes of criminal behavior through rehabilitation and support.
Milwaukee’s Diversion Program Example:
Consists mainly of community service and restitution.
Success Rate: Only 9% of low-risk offenders participating in the program are eventually convicted of the underlying crime.
Comparison: 74% of similar offenders who do not participate are convicted.
Societal Benefits:
Treating Offenders as Victims: Street prostitutes, for example, are offered access to treatment and rehabilitation programs.
Keeping Offenders Out of Incarceration: Society benefits when such offenders are diverted from jail or prison.
Paul H. Hahn’s “Strainer” Analogy:
Process: Corrections system acts like a kitchen strainer, diverting less serious offenders from incarceration with each “shake.”
Outcome: Only the most serious convicts remain in prison.
Impact on Corrections Systems:
Increased Prominence: Diversionary role of community-based punishments has grown as prisons and jails have filled up.
Statistics: Probationers and parolees now account for about 70% of all adults in American corrections systems.
Learning Objective Considerations:
Justifications for Community-Based Corrections: Diversion programs are justified because they relieve pressure on the justice system, offer rehabilitation to low-risk offenders, and provide societal benefits by addressing root causes of crime and reducing incarceration rates. Programs like Milwaukee’s Diversion Program exemplify how community service and restitution can significantly lower conviction rates compared to traditional incarceration.
12-1c The \"Low-Cost Alternative\"
Overview:
Financial Pressures: The expansion of community corrections is significantly driven by economic factors, as the costs of imprisonment continue to burden state budgets.
States spend over annually on corrections systems, predominantly on prison operating costs.
Community corrections offer a more affordable alternative to incarceration.
Cost Savings:
Federal Savings: The U.S. Courts Administrative Office estimates federal savings of approximately $30,400 annually for each nonviolent offender shifted from incarceration to supervised release.
State Savings: In North Carolina, the average yearly cost of housing an inmate is $37,713, compared to $1,874 for community corrections.
Local Savings: San Francisco’s Neighborhood Courts diversion program saves the city about $3,500 per offender by avoiding pretrial and trial proceedings.
Learning Objective Considerations:
Justifications for Community-Based Corrections: Community corrections are justified as a low-cost alternative due to the substantial financial savings compared to traditional incarceration. These savings are evident at the federal, state, and local levels, making community corrections an economically viable option for managing nonviolent offenders while alleviating the financial strain on corrections budgets.