3/16/2014
Community Based Correction
Intro To Sociology
Ms. Dawn McClanahan, J.D.
Community Based Corrections
Community based correction is a more effective means of criminal punishment in comparison to incarceration. Community based corrections is a program which supervises people who have been convicted or are facing conviction. It is a non-incarcerate system of correction. These offenders have been convicted or are facing conviction. Some offenders have entered these programs before being in jail and some serve a part of their sentence in jail before entering the program. Community corrections have gained acceptance across the United States as a response to the growing costs of traditional correctional settings. Their increased use is based on the fact that such programs are generally cheaper, because they entail shorter periods of control, but also thought to be more effective than residential prisons and jails in reducing future criminal behavior. In Ohio, community-based alternatives to prison were established in HB 1000, also known as the Community Corrections Act (CCA). Under this bill, non-residential prison alternatives were established that would allow lower level felons to be diverted from expensive state penal institutions into cheaper community based programs. Over time, community alternatives expanded across the state and became an integral part of the correctional scene.
By FiscalYear 2000, CCA programs expanded to 85 of Ohio’s 88 counties. Typically, these facilities and programs house non-violent, first and second time offenders who might be sentenced to prison if not for the community alternative. It is reported that in 2000, over 8,698 offenders were diverted from the state prison system and 18,344 offenders from local jails (Ohio DRC website). According to the Bureau of Justice Statistics, Ohio has a smaller proportion of its correctional population in prison and jail than other