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CRJS 318 Web Site. http://www.odu.edu/al/cpate/index.htm. CRJS 318. Probation, Parole and Community-Based Corrections Two Books: Community-Based Corrections, MML Community Corrections, JP. Instructor Background. Chris Pate Military State Government Academic Practitioner Perspective.
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CRJS 318 Web Site • http://www.odu.edu/al/cpate/index.htm
CRJS 318 • Probation, Parole and Community-Based Corrections • Two Books: • Community-Based Corrections, MML • Community Corrections, JP
Instructor Background • Chris Pate • Military • State Government • Academic • Practitioner Perspective
Succeeding In Class • The Easy Way • Read Assignments Generally Before Classes • Attend Class, Participate, Take Notes • Review Material For Understanding The Hard Way -Don’t Read Assignments Or Attend Class -Rely On Someone Else To Carry You
Rules For Fairness • Verification required for excused late papers and missed quizzes. • Be considerate. Be on time for quizzes and written assignments. • Honor Code is absolute.
Extra Credit • 1. Options listed in online syllabus 2. Pre-Approved community service Provide verification by due date
Getting Started • 1. What is the purpose of our CJ System? • 2. What is the purpose of incarceration? • 3. What is CBC expected to accomplish? • 4. Who are the clients served by CJ system?
5. Does our CJ system work as it should? • 6. Does CBC accomplish what it should? • 7. Does rehabilitation work?
8. Should offenders who commit similar crimes and who have similar backgrounds receive identical sentences? • 9. Who is being punished worse by incarceration: offenders or society?
10. How should society decide who is punished and who is not? • 11. Should we be as fair and just with criminals as with one another? • 12. What is punishment?
13. What is sufficient punishment? • 14. Is prison/jail more punitive than probation or parole?
16. If CBC with Intermediate Sanctions punishes more than confinement, and if imprisonment increases criminal outcomes, why not use more CBC? • 17. Whose responsibility is public safety?
18. Why do resource allocators (Politicians) not fund CBC better? • 19. Who pays the bill? • 20. Who cares?
Historical Perspectives • Public debate on crime has ignored or diminished the role of CBC. • Crime control legislation has all but eliminated consideration of P&P.
Perhaps the only public system in worse shape than education and health care is criminal justice. • Perhaps we should call it the legal system rather than the criminal justice system.
Public debate on crime has ignored or diminished the role of CBC. • Recent federal crime control legislation • 1994, Most ambitious crime control bill ever • $22 Billion to expand prisons, lengthen sentences, hire police, TX • 1995, Increased funding to $30 Billion • Diverted $5 Billion TX money to prison construction and enforcement
Why is this a problem? • The majority of criminals, who happen to be serving sentences on probation and parole, are unaffected. • Discussion
Effects • Governmental “cutback mentality” and “get tough” mood exacerbate crime.
Simplistic Solutions • “A smart person solves problems. A genius prevents them. CJ is filled with wise people and short of geniuses.”
CBC Is Partly At Fault • CBC practitioners need to: • Articulate what they do • Evaluate programs for effectiveness • Proactively educate the public • Facts and Alternatives
Challenge: Balanced Approach • Make better use of taxpayer funds. • Recognize incarceration may have a limited impact on crime rates. • Imprison physical threat offenders. • Redirect some resources to promising CBC programs.
How Did The Mess Occur? • Human Nature and Immediate Gratification • Think of love • Perfection • Fireworks • Promise of Eternal Bliss • Reality Dawns (Usually)
Prior Panaceas The Evolution of CBC • Community Punishments • 1700’s Quakers, Penitentiaries • 1870’s Indeterminate Sentence • 1800’s-1900 Therapeutic Prison • 1960’s-1970’s Flourishing CBC • 1980’s-Present Get Tough On Crime • 1980’s-1990’s Punish and Control
Net Widening • During the Flourishing of CBC Period
A Better Idea • Reasoned Approach • Consensus Building • Realize TX Is Not A Euphemism For Leniency • Realize Control, Properly Done, Will Not Corrupt Reform
Facts • P&P Programs Work When They Are:
Corrections Spending • Prison and Jail Spending • Two Cents of Every State and Local Dollar Probation and Parole • Two Tenths of One Cent ¾ of Correctional Clients Are In Local Communities They Receive 1/10 Of Corrections Budgets
Problem, Reality, Results • Problem: President’s Crime Commission • Reality: Average national caseload 150:1
Supervision Failures • Offenders who fail under community supervision are the fastest growing component of prison populations. • This costs you $$$$$$$$$$.
Cost Comparisons • Effective TX Programs • $12,000 to $14,000 per year • Prison • $18,000 to $25,000 per year • Probation • About $1,400 per year
Expanded Prison Policy • Politicians Cite Public Opinion As The Reason For Supporting Expanded Prison/Incarceration Policies. • Fundamental Tenet of Democratic Society • Government and its institutions should reflect the will of the people.
Problem: What Punishes? • Problem: What Punishes? • Is requiring a runner to run 5 miles punishment? • Is requiring a lazy person to stay home punishment? • Reality: The opinion of the person punished is crucial in determining punishment.
Intermediate Sanctions As Punishment • Many offenders consider Intermediate Sanctions more punishing than prison. • Balance, Level and Intensity of IS can be dreaded. • One 10 page research paper per semester • Per week • Per Day
Building Consensus • Common Sense (and Knowledge) • Target Offender Groups That Make Sense • Those that commit the most crime • Those that pose the least physical threat
Consensus (cont’d) Answer: Minor Drug Offenders -Greatest number of offenders -Drugs generally contribute to crime -TX reduces crime
Results of P&P Cases in TX • Higher success rates and Lower crime rates • Each day of TX pays for itself that day • Crime costs and Health Care costs
Problems to Address • How to Control Crime • Crime Prevention • De-escalating Criminal Careers
A Bottom Line Problem • Federal Crime Control Policy • Provides $$$ to states to support fed policies • Political Leadership and Guts Is A Major Issue
False Dichotomy • Tough Law Enforcement vs. CB Prevention • To argue between tough law enforcement and community-based crime prevention is a false dichotomy. • The choice is not one or the other.