Probation and Community Corrections

CHAPTER 4

Probation and Community Corrections

Learning Objectives

• To provide you with an historical context for modern probation and community corrections
• To acquaint you with the mechanisms by which probation is provided, monitored, and revoked in contemporary US jurisdictions
• To introduce you to the evolving topic of community corrections
• To help you understand the issues and trends in probation and community corrections

Chapter Outline

1. The History of Probation

A. Probation – the conditional freedom granted an offender by a court

B. Forerunners of Modern Probation

1. Judicial reprieve—the suspension of a penal sanction for a fixed time
2. By the eighteenth century, English judges suspended sentences in return for a specified period of good behavior
3. Bail—money or property pledged to, or held by, the court to ensure that an arrested and charged individual will appear for trial
4. Release on recognizance (ROR)—the accused posted a bond or surety deposit with the court
5. Habeas Corpus Act of 1679—an act of the English parliament allowing the Magistrate to discharge prisoners taking their recognizance with one or more sureties

C. John Augustus: The Father of Probation

1. A wealthy shoemaker in Boston
2. Had an 18 year association with the courts in a quasi-official capacity supervising individuals convicted by the court but released into his care for a period of time
3. Helped probationers secure jobs and home
4. Supervised them in the community
5. Reported to court on the probationers progress

D. The Growth of Probation Services

1. After Augustus’s death, volunteers continued his work
2. 1878—City of Boston hired a professional probation officer
3. 1897—Missouri adopted a bench parole law—authorizing the courts to suspend sentences under certain conditions
4. Other states quickly followed these examples

1. The Administration of Probation

A. Eligibility for Probation

1. United States v. Birnbuam (1970)—probation is a privilege, not a right
2. Probation is prohibited for murder, kidnapping, or rape

B. Probation Officers

1. Sworn officers of the judicial branch of government
2. Judges or court administrators hire, train, evaluate, and fire probation officers

C. Presentence Investigation and Report

1. A detailed examination, prepared by a probation officer, caseworker, or other court officer, of a criminal defendant’s life
2. PSI reviews the offender’s records (school, police, and medical) and the thoughts of those exposed to the offender
3. The court will base their decision on the PSI, plea bargains made by the prosecutor, and the crowding situation in the jail or prison

D. Risk-Management Classifications, Caseload and Workload Issues

1. Administrative is the lowest risk offenders—generally viewed as posing no serious threat;
2. Minimum supervision—offenders who pose no significant public safety threat; no history of serious crime
3. Medium supervision—offenders who pose no significant threat to public safety but have a history of serious crime
4. Intensive supervision—offenders with a history of violent behavior
5. Caseload—number of clients assigned to a given supervision officer
6. Workload—refers to the amount of time needed to complete various tasks associated with supervising one’s clients

E. The Conditions of Probation

1. General conditions—a board set of conditions for all probationers
2. Specific conditions—tailor-made conditions for an individual probationers

F. Intensive Supervision: Does It Make a Difference?

1. Varies from state to state, but all monitor probationers closely
2. Curfews, multiple weekly visits, strict enforcement conditions, unscheduled drug testing, and community service
3. Drug testing required for many probationers
4. Findings indicate that intensive supervision reduced recidivism

G. The Length of Supervision

1. Some jurisdictions impose as little as one year and as many as ten years of supervision
2. The average amount of supervised time is 22 months

H. Models of Supervision Officers

1. The Law Enforcement Model—Surveillance Model Officers
2. Treatment Model Officers
3. Synthetic Officers—try to balance the demands of each model creating a hybrid model

1. Violations of Probation

A. Technical Violations—Violation of one or more conditions of probation

B. Violating a technical violation can lead to a revocation hearing

C. The Preliminary Hearing

1. Mempa v. Rhay (1967) and Gagnon v. Scarpelli (1973) led to states adopting a standardized process for revocation
2. Determines probable cause that a violation has occurred
3. If the probationer waives the preliminary hearing the next step is a revocation hearing

D. The Revocation Hearing

1. In Mempa v. Rhay the Court set specific guidelines for revocation
2. Proof at a revocation hearing need not meet the standard proof beyond a reasonable doubt; instead a preponderance of the evidence applies

E. Sentencing

1. If found not guilty, probationer returns to probation
2. If found guilty, the judge has options: continued probation, additional conditions to the probation, or revocation.

1. Probation Services Today

A. Probationers Services

1. Four in seven of all adults are under some form of correctional supervision in the United States
2. 99. 8 percent of all probationers were under the supervision of state agencies

B. Profiles of Probationers

1. Average probationer is a white male
2. Women—constitute 7 percent of those convicted and 24 percent of state probationers
3. Blacks account for a smaller proportion
4. Half of all probationers’ in 2010 committed felonies (47 percent)
5. In 2010—nearly 4 million probationers in United States
6. Nearly 7 percent had absconded

C. Trends in Probation

1. Number of adults on probation grew every year from 1983 to 2008
2. Beginning in 2009 and into 2010, probation population has declined

1. The Role of Community Corrections

A. Extrainstitutional punishment—criminal sanctions administered outside a secure correctional facility

B. Intermediate sanctions—extrainstitutional punishments: they include all types of correctional programming between traditional probation and prison

C. Diversion—the process of removing individuals from the formal system of prosecution and adjudication and placing them in a less-formal treatment setting

D. Origins of Diversion

1. Labeling—the process through which individuals adopt the characteristics of whatever it is they have been designated by those powerful enough to make the new status stick
2. If we suspend proceedings before society labels the offender as delinquent criminal, we can prevent the negative effects of the label

E. Types of Diversion Programs

1. Focus on self-awareness: educational or informational programs
2. Focus on counseling or self-help programs
3. Focus on first offenders
4. Goal to keep first offenders from becoming persistent offenders

F. Success and Failure

1. Net widening—occurs when a diversionary program designed to reduce the overall volume of contacts with and depth of penetration into the justice system does just the opposite
2. Most diversion programs might be net widening
3. Diversion programs increase the offender population in the programs themselves
4. Diversion programs may have the effect of increasing our capacity to punish

1. Types of Intermediate Sanctions

A. Fines, Forfeitures, and Restitution

1. Day fine—(see chapter 3)
2. Asset forfeiture—used in the war against organized crime under the Federal Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Statute
3. Restitution—serves as an economic sanction
4. Success and Failure
5. Economic sanctions are the fastest-growing penalties in community corrections
6. Economic sanctions generate revenue

B. Community Service

1. An area of community corrections that has grown enormously since the late 1970s.
2. The Objectives of Community Service
3. To secure benefits for the community and the offender as well
4. The offender benefits by avoiding incarceration and by not incurring a financial cost
5. Types of Programs
6. Working in government parks
7. Cleaning government offices
8. Work in hospital emergency rooms
9. Clinics
10. Libraries
11. Issues in Community Service
12. Ensuring offenders’ accountability presents problems
13. The jobs may not be meaningful to the offender
14. Issues concerning the supervision of the offender performing the service
15. Many do not see community service as a true punishment
16. Success and Failure
17. Community service will continue to be a part of sentencing
18. Existing enabling legislation keeps community service from being punitive

C. House Arrest with Electronic Monitoring

1. House arrest—old punishment combined with new enforcement through electronic monitoring
2. April, 1983—first court ordered electronic anklet for a probation violator
3. Surveillance officers—sworn peace officers or other probation employees with limited arrest powers
4. The Objectives of House Arrest with Electronic Monitoring
5. An alternative to incarceration
6. Savings to the public
7. Save institutional space and minimize the stigma and trauma of prison or jail
8. Success and Failure
9. One problem with the new correctional programs is they claim to be the solution to the problem
10. The costs of electronic monitoring is not as cost-effective as originally thought
11. Frequently, offenders placed on electronic monitoring are not really on the way to jail or prison
12. Electronic monitoring monitors a specific place not specific behavior

1. Issues in Community Corrections

A. Government and Private Sponsorship

1. Halfway house—can be joined publicly with private funding for substance abusers
2. Relying on government funding has two major drawbacks
3. Uncertainties of government spending
4. Some programs are offered in the community and not in the institution
5. Multiple funding sources are either accountable to everyone or to no one

B. Administering Community-Based Programs

1. They attract energetic and creative employees
2. Intense and demanding job
3. Turnover is constant

C. Supporters

1. Some say that the community approach could work and that it would do not worse than institutional programming
2. A positive aspect: cost-effective
3. The relative absence of stigma is a positive aspect
4. Community based programs work with offenders in their natural environment
5. Reintegration—institutional makes it difficult for offenders to return to outside life

D. Detractors

1. Some argue that the more we use community programs, the more they contribute to the upward budget spiral
2. Net widening draws in more offenders
3. Community programs fail to protect the public
4. Do the programs work?

E. The Special Care of Community Stakeholders

1. Politicians
2. Policy makers
3. Community-corrections planners
4. Members of the public

F. The Future of Community Corrections

1. The trend of relying on community corrections appears to continue
2. Offenders can be expected to help defray the costs of their sentence
3. The practical limit of the number of correctional institutions we can support may be close to the limit
4. Program effectiveness should be a factor in judicial selection of community corrections over institutionalization

Key Terms

allocution—to speak out formally

asset forfeiture—an economic sanction frequently used under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Statute

bail—money or property pledged to, or held by, the court to ensure that an arrested and charged individual will appear for trial

caseload—number of clients assigned to a given supervision officer

community service – the offender provides a service to the community as required by the court

diversion—the process of removing individuals from the formal system of prosecution and adjudication and placing them in a less-formal treatment system

extrainstitutional punishment—criminal sanctions administered outside a secure correctional facility

Habeas Corpus Act of 1679—an act of the English parliament allowing the Magistrate discretion to release a prisoner on their own recognizance

halfway house—community-based supervised residential program generally used as a bridge between prison and freedom

intensive supervision programs (ISPs)—the monitoring of releasees closely with curfews, multiple weekly contacts with case managers, strict enforcement of conditions, unscheduled drug testing and community service

intermediate sanctions—extrainstitutional punishments that include all types of correctional programming between traditional probation and prison

judicial reprieve—the suspension of a penal sanction for a fixed time; common practice in medieval English courts

labeling—the process through which individuals adopt the characteristics of whatever it is they have been designated by those powerful enough to make the new status stick

mixed caseload—both misdemeanants and felons among the probationers supervised by a Probation Officer

needs principle—assess criminogenic needs and target them in treatment

net widening—occurs when a diversionary program designed to reduce the overall volume of contacts with, and depth of, penetration into the justice system does just the opposite

presentence investigation (PSI)—a detailed examination of a defendant’s life prepared by a probation officer, caseworker, or other court officer

probation—the conditional freedom granted an offender by a court

release on recognizance (ROR)—the accused posted a bond or surety deposit with the court

responsivity—measures the risk and need for offender assessment and rehabilitation

restitution—either alone or with probation; serves as an economic sanction

risk principle—assess criminogenic needs and target them in treatment

surveillance officers—typically sworn peace officers or other probation employees with limited arrest powers

technical violation—a violation of a condition of probation

workload—refers to the amount of time needed to complete various tasks associated with supervising one’s clients

Chapter Summary

Probation and community corrections are similar correctional programs, but differ in important ways as well. From this chapter, you should especially note the following:

• Probation carries the major corrections burden for both adults and juveniles.
• The growth of probation services, which expanded tremendously during the 1980s and 1990s, has slowed in recent years.
• It is unclear whether increasing the surveillance on probationers will result in lower recidivism. Likewise, supervision that is more intensive has a tendency to yield higher failure rates.
• Intermediate sanctions, as a form of extrainstitutional punishments, share the goal of diverting offenders from deeper and more lasting movement through the labyrinth of contemporary criminal justice.
• Many but not all forms of intermediate sanctions function as diversion from the system; some, especially fines and restitution, are viewed as add-on sanctions for both probationers and incarcerated offenders.
• Modern technology and old-fashioned approaches to holding people accountable for their actions permeate the movement toward intermediate sanctions.
• Modern criminal justice could not function in the United States without probation services, even though community-based corrections enhance the service delivery; eventually, the emphasis remains on traditional forms of supervision long associated with probation.

Discussion Topics

1. Trace the history of probation in the United States. Which parts of the original probation are still in practice today?
2. Is probation an actual punishment or a waste of time? What are the advantages of sentencing an offender to probation? What are the disadvantages?
3. Discuss the role of community corrections in punishment. What are the various types of intermediate sanctions being utilized to sentence offenders? Are they working?

Web Activities

1. Go to the American Probation and Parole Association website.

Locate the Resources Tab and click on Pubs and Reports. Click on View our free Pubs and Reports.

Download the PDF: Trends in Probation and Parole in the United States. Read and write a 1-2 page paper explaining how probation and parole plays a critical role in the United States.

1. View the YouTube video: So you want to be a Probation or Parole Officer. Use this video to generate a class discussion, an online discussion board, or a paper.
2. Using the internet go to the 2013 Minimum Salary Schedule for Probation Officers

Review the pay scale. Use this to generate a class discussion or online Discussion Board regarding salaries of Probation Officers.