Chapter 9 Flashcards
(17 cards)
House arrest
intermediate sanction designed to confine pretrial detainees or convicted offenders to their homes during hours when they’re not at work, attending a treatment, or visiting a supervising officer, can be used for defendants who can’t make bail, for convicted offenders, it’s either a condition of probation, w/home based voice verification or other monitoring
Home detention purposes
an alternative to incarcerations for pretrial detainees as a way to ease jail overflow, ensures appearance in court, when not working or in approved activities, offenders must be home, if not they’re in violation, some programs randomly call offenders at home, computer electronically verifies their voice
House arrests criticisms
- a punishment?
- does it violate pretrial detainee’s constitutional right to privacy, & if there are other family members
- offenders can still commit crimes at home
- incidence of domestic violence may erupt because offender is home all of the time
- considerable discipline is needed for house arrest, which makes it unsuitable for many offenders
House arrest effectiveness
- offenders are 2x more likely as regular parolees to have parole revoked for technical violation
- this allows pretrial defendants chance to keep working and supporting their families w/o interruption from incarceration
Electronic monitoring
EM - correctional technology for intense supervision probation, specialized parole, day reporting centers, and house arrest, can be used for non-convicted defendants who need elevated level of supervision while out on bond or pretrial supervision
Radio frequency EM history
Robert Schwitzgebel- University of California, made EM in 1960s, idea for it was inspired NM judge Jack Love, saw how Spiderman was tracked by wrist transmitter in comics, popular in 80’s for DUI & white collar offenders
Problems e/early EM
early programs required offenders to have a landline telephone, discriminating against the poor, home bound EM systems weren’t able to track where offenders went once they left their home, not guaranteed that, supervising officer was communicating w/”correct” person, certain areas in home didn’t receive transmissions
Global positioning systems
GPS uses 24 military satellites that orbit Earth & 5 ground controls stations to pinpoint locations anywhere in the world w/data coordinates, offenders wear an ankle bracelet, which carries a 1-piece transmitter and a GPS receiver w/a microprocessor, most states mandate use for sex offenders
GPS
Active GPS systems transmit data through wireless networks like cell phones, active systems also known as real-time units, since data can be transmitted often w/a short lag time, in passive GPS system, daytime tracking data is temporarily stored & downloaded at night through landline phone while offender is sleeping
GPS zones
microprocessor inside receiver also allows the supervising officer to use software to program in exclusion and inclusion zones,
exclusion zone - residence and workplace of identified victim
inclusion zone - offender’s place of employment, school, and other approved activities
if offender enters inclusion/exclusion zone at wrong times, supervising officer is alerted
GPS limitations
loss of signal - unreliable signal in rural areas, some urban areas, and cell phone dead spots, short battery lives,
cost - as cost of GPS goes down, cell phone service improves in rural areas, number of offenders supervised w/satellites increases, but offenders can remove device w/certain tools
Thoughts about EM & GPS
- concerns that widespread use will widen net
- ethical concerns: are privacy companies profiting off of new technology
- general public is supportive
- supervising officers like it, but it has increased amount of paperwork & probability of violations
- Offenders prefer it over jail, but feel ashamed & a sense of loss & control of their lives
Empirical evaluations: EM & GPS
average threshold of offenders using EM or GPS is 6 months, comparisons of EM offenders of those w/regular supervision found similar recidivism rates, but does have positive impact of how offenders act under supervision
- California study of high-risk offenders - GPS parolees had same recidivism rates as regular parolees
Gender differences w/EM
men report that they have more support from S/O while on EM, but women report less support & more stressed, EM & GPS hold promise as technology improves, costs are reduced, success depends on success w/offender, but issues remain about whether technology for this creates a false sense of security or if we have unrealistic expectations of its effectiveness
Day reporting centers (DRCs)
type of outpatient program based on 3 phase level system where offenders report daily for variety of treatment programs, itinerary, and random drug testing, one step shop w/all resources & educational programs in one place, low staff/offender ratio, often open extended hours, can be used for: pretrial detainees, reentry program for new parolees, increased sanction for violators of supervision
Treatment vs. Supervision: Oriented DRCs
some DRCs emphasize treatment, others supervision
Treatment DRC - offer wide range of services, classes, & counseling
Supervision DRC - ensures compliance w/rules
Average DRC sentence is 6 months, more costly than traditional probation/parole & intensive supervision, but less than residential treatment & incarceration
DRC evaluations
accept more high-risk offenders than many other programs & place extensive responsibilities on offender, are lower completion rates compared to other community-based programs termination rates are higher for service-oriented programs than supervision ones, & rates are also higher for programs longer than 6 months
