Chapter 14 Flashcards
(20 cards)
Goal of community corrections
- desistance: gradual process by which prisoners change dysfunctional & criminal behavior into new habits
objectives: - rehabilitation through effective treatment
- protecting public through consistent supervision methods
- restoration of victims, offenders =, & communities
Rehabilitation solutions
as a correctional goal corrects root causes of criminal behavior (drug/alcohol addiction & lacking emotional control), can provide skills such as:
- education
- vocation training
- parenting
- stabilizing health
timing must be right = offender is ready
Methadone maintenance programs
- 115,000 American take it everyday
- synthetic opiate, used to maintain heroin addiction
- 2/3 methadone patients show dramatic decreased drug use, criminal involvement, & improved life circumstances
- heroin is highly addictive & hard to kick
- chronic users get intense cravings for it even after years of last usage
- patient then gets addicted to opiate, but no longer addicted to heroin
What programs work to reduce recidivism
correctional intervention:
- theory of risk/need/responsivity
- tied to evidence
rehabilitation methods
- rehabilitation efforts most effective when cognitive-behavioral methods are used
- research shows that treatment matched w/each person’s individual criminogenic needs & addressed to their learning style
- community corrections programs must be evidence based and all staff (judges, prosecutors, probation officers, treatment staff) are trained in these principles
valid risk/needs assessments
valid assessments should quantitatively measure offender risk of recidivism & offender treatment needs; these assessments should be complete & routinely used at all decision-making points in corrections:
- diversion
- sentencing
- probation sentencing
- reentry
OR - has valid & empirically tested ?s
Community supervision solutions
crime desistance is achieved through:
- consistent supervision
- unannounced visits
- letting offenders know in advance the actions of their consequences
progressive & graduated sanction alternatives allow offenders to face consequences w/o crowding jails
Schwalbe’s participation process model
framework to understand how community correctional supervision practices can influence successful outcomes:
- communication
- casework strategies
- leverage
PPM: communication
- includes: listening, clarifying expectations & use of motivational interviewing
- MI gives praise & encouragement for desirable
- use more positive reinforcement & incentives than has been used traditionally
- while attitude & behavior on offender’s part is instrumental to success, supervision officer must also be willing to help
- upper management has responsibility to ensure that programs are routinely measured, line officers have reliable data
PPM: casework strategies
includes - assessing criminogenic factors, scoring risk & needs accurately, establishing long range treatment goals, assisting clients w/implementing actions steps towards success
there’s an abundance of recidivism prediction instruments, but sometimes difficult to figure out key factors
PPM: risk factors that predict recidivism
- criminal identity (attitudes & beliefs)
- anti social personality disorder
- early & persistent involvement in law breaking behavior
- S/O or close associates are antisocial
- lack of nurturing & supportive relationships
- alcohol/drug use
- low levels of performance in school/work
- lack of interest in leisure, hobbies, & recreational pursuits
Preparing for reentry
- complete meaningful treatment interventions before release
- maintain contact w/positive & supporting family
- have a solid prerelease plan (living arrangements, jobs, etc.)
- assisting clients w/implementing action step towards success
PPM: leverage
- supervision officers must continuously confront offenders for undesirable actions & carry out consequences
- most offenders on community supervision commit technical violations rather than new crimes
- responses to this must be swift, consistent, & fairly applied
- sanctions should be graduated based on violation, risk scores, & cooperation levels
Restorative solutions
- CBC provides offenders opportunities to be accountable for their actions & harm caused to victims & community, best for nonviolent crimes, examples:
- community boards
- victim offender medication
- sentencing circles
Justice reinvestment
last strategy: reinvest in socioeconomically disadvantaged neighborhoods, large number of offenders come from impoverish areas: low employment, open drug use, community instability & disorganization, CBS available
reinvestment - federal funding for employment programs, schools, social services
Pardon
executive act of clemency, serves to mitigate or set aside punishment for crime
- federal crimes - U.S president
- state crimes - governors of states
either absolute (full) or conditional
Absolute pardon
freely & unconditionally absolves ab individual from legal consequences of their conviction
Conditional pardon
becomes operative when grantee has performed certain acts or becomes void when some specific act occurs
Restoring former offenders
- expungement of records - process by which a record of criminal conviction is destroyed or sealed after expiration time
- each state expunges arrest & conviction records differently
- 40 states allow people to expunge or seal arrest records
- fewer than half states allow for expungement of convictions
Are juvenile records confidential
- juveniles arrested, taken into custody or been adjudicated as delinquents have record
- usual juvenile records can be made available nationwide to any law enforcement agency or court personnel up front
- confidentiality of these reports isn’t a constitutional right, has gradually been diminished over years
- only in absence of state law or agency policy allowing disclose = confidentiality
