cmrj317 notes
Midterm
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Part 1 of 1 - 100.0 Points
Question 1 of 26 4.0 Points
European approaches to correctional strategies largely reflect those found in the United States.
A. True
B. False
Answer Key: False
Question 2 of 26 4.0 Points
Most people who work in community-based correctional programs do so because they want to have a positive impact on the world around them by enhancing public safety, aiding offenders in need, or increasing offender accountability for their actions.
A. True
B. False
Answer Key: True
Question 3 of 26 4.0 Points
While many drug courts focusing on treatment handle only drug possession cases, some accept low-level drug sale cases and others process any drug felony.
A. True
B. False
Answer Key: True
Question 4 of 26 4.0 Points
Probation took from in the United States, but it was essentially an outgrowth of several practices found in English common law. Probation developed as a variation of the English practice of the conditional suspension of punishment pending the offender's good behavior.
A. True
B. False
Answer Key: True
Question 5 of 26 4.0 Points
By 1924, every state had adopted probation as a form of correctional disposition.
A. True
B. False
Answer Key: False
Question 6 of 26 4.0 Points
The word "parole" comes from the English term "stuparole" which referred to inmates who no longer posed a threat to society.
A. True
B. False
Answer Key: False
Question 7 of 26 4.0 Points
When pardoned felons arrived in the American colonies, their services were sold to the highest bidder and the shipmaster then transferred the "property in service" agreement to the new master.
A. True
B. False
Answer Key: True
Question 8 of 26 4.0 Points
Similar to the transportation of offenders to the American colonies, British offenders who were transferred to Australia became indentured servants.
A. True
B. False
Answer Key: False
Question 9 of 26 4.0 Points
The consolidated model of parole services has not gained much of a foothold at the adult level of corrections, but it appears to be the preferred method for placing juveniles on aftercare services following a more intensive incarceration.
A. True
B. False
Answer Key: False
Question 10 of 26 4.0 Points
Question 11 of 26 0.0 Points
One of the most promising strategies developed but unfortunately not in use today is mutual agreement programming, which is essentially a contract between the state and the offender regarding the date of release from prison.
A. True
B. False
Answer Key: True
Question 12 of 26 4.0 Points
Which of the following is one of Clear's five "crime and place" challenges for community corrections?
A. geography
B. biology
C. spatial patterning and coding
D. felony physics
Answer Key: A
Question 13 of 26 4.0 Points
Which of the following best depicts the typical offender on probation?
A. Hispanic male
B. black male
C. white male
D. a female
Answer Key: C
Question 14 of 26 4.0 Points
___________ professionals in the field of probation services seem to agree that a flexible approach should be taken with regard to probation conditions.
A. Few
B. About half of all
C. Most
D. All
Answer Key: C
Question 15 of 26 4.0 Points
Currently, two major forces are reshaping parole: the continuing trend toward limiting judges' sentencing authority and:
A. more violent parolees
B. limited resources
C. the reduction of parole authorities' discretion to release offenders
D. lack of cooperation between parole authorities and the courts
Answer Key: C
Question 16 of 26 4.0 Points
The decision in Greenholtz vs. Inmates of the Nebraska Penal and Correctional Complex stated that parole was - and continues to be - a ______ device.
A. rehabilitative
B. punitive
C. incapacitative
D. retributive
Answer Key: A
Question 17 of 26 4.0 Points
Three British correctional practices played an especially important role in the emergence of parole in the United States in 1876: the policy of transportation, the use of conditional pardon, and the _____________.
A. watchmaker's plea
B. ticket of leave
C. doctrine of diversion
D. shoemaker's policy
Answer Key: B
Question 18 of 26 4.0 Points
In studying whether probation and parole officers with smaller caseloads would have more time to spend with their clients and thus a greater impact on their reform, the San Francisco Project found:
A. no link between caseload size and offender rehabilitation
B. a strong link between caseload size and offender rehabilitation
C. that drug offenders received the greatest benefit
D. that sex offenders received the greatest benefit
Answer Key: A
Question 19 of 26 4.0 Points
_______ approaches involve an offender being sent to an ISP before incarceration occurs.
A. Tertiary
B. Primary
C. Front-end
D. Proactive security
Answer Key: C
Question 20 of 26 4.0 Points
The contemporary boot camp movement originated in _________ in 1983.
A. Texas
B. California
C. Georgia
D. Florida
Answer Key: C
Question 21 of 26 4.0 Points
The Harris County CRIPP facility is a:
A. maximum security prison
B. day reporting center
C. boot camp
D. tent village used to confine those sentenced to jail
Answer Key: C
Question 22 of 26 4.0 Points
Explain how probation is currently administered in the United States. Also, discuss why the authors believe that probation ought to be located within the executive branch of government.
Explain how probation is currently administered in the United States. Also, discuss why the authors believe that probation ought to be located within the executive branch of government.
Probation in the United States is administered by hundreds of independent agencies operating under different state laws and following different philosophies. Over half of the 1,920 agencies that administer adult probation services are operated at the state level (26 states), and the rest are administered by combination of state or county and or county or municipal agencies. Texas, for example, has over 100 independent, local district probation agencies that handle adult probation cases.
In general, probation services in the United States are organized into five administrative models:
• Juvenile. Over half of all juvenile probation services (2,120 agencies) are administered at the local level or by a combination of local and state agencies, and the rest are administered solely by state agencies (16 states). In all cases, the administration of juvenile probation is separate from adult probation services.
• Municipal/County. Probation units are directed by the trial courts following state law and guidelines and are operated and funded by local governments. (This administrative model operates only in California and Washington D.C.).
• State. A state-level executive agency administers a central probation and/or a combined probation and parole system that provides services throughout the state. (New Mexico for example, has a state-administered agency that provides both parole and probation services).
• State combined. In this model programs are administered locally but funded at the state level. (The state of Pennsylvania for example, provides funds to county probation departments through a grant-in-aid program).
• Federal. Probation is administered as an arm of the federal courts.
The role of probation can hardly be underestimated in the modern judicial system. At the same time, specialists (Reiman, 2003) argue concerning the effective application of probation in the modern society. In actuality, one of the major problems is the approach used to probation. To put it more precisely, probation can be either centralized or decentralized. In this regard, specialists (Clear, Cole and Reising, 2008) argue that both centralization and decentralization of probation has its own advantages and drawbacks.
The centralized probation implies the existing of the administrative body that supervises probation at the state level. In such a situation, the administrative body can maintain the control over and supervision of offenders on probation statewide. Basically, centralization allows concentrating data on offenders on probation within one agency, where highly qualified professionals are employed. On the other hand, the decentralization of probation, makes supervision and control over offenders more flexible. What is meant here is the fact that offenders are under the control of the administrative body which operates at the local level, the level of a city or county.
As a result, this agency can perform functions of supervision and control within the city or county limits, while the smaller size of the agency, compared to centralized administrative body, makes it more flexible and able to respond adequately to action or inaction of offenders on probation. Anyway, it is obvious that decentralized probation eliminates such a serious problem of centralized probation as bureaucracy. Therefore, decentralized probation is closer to offenders as well as to the local community and, thus, it can be viewed as more effective, though the prospects of the total shift from centralized to decentralized probation are still uncertain.
Another significant problem of the organization of modern probation is the problem of administration of probation. In this respect, there tow major “rivals” for the administration of probation: judicial branch and executive branch. Traditionally, judicial branch played the dominant role in the administration of probation, but, today, when the trends to decentralization of probation and integration of offenders on probation into local communities grow stronger, the administration of probation by executive branch seems to be more effective because executive branch has larger opportunities to supervise probation and meet the needs of both offenders and local community. Probation Department under the authority of the executive branch would improve public safety, provide better oversight and transparency and save money.
Clear, T.R., J.F. Cole and M.D. Reising. (2008). American Corrections. New
York: Thomson Wadsworth.
Reiman, J. (2006). The Rich Get Richer and The Poor Get Prison. New York:
Random House.
Comment: Very good posting and great research.
Question 23 of 26 4.0 Points
Discuss the purposes of the PSI report. Also, note who prepares these reports.
Discuss the purposes of the PSI report. Also, note who prepares these reports.
Pre-Sentencing Investigation Report, which is prepared by the court's probation department. It is one of the most important documents in the criminal process and provides and outline of the crime, the defendant's personal background and social history (family and marital status, education, employment history, economic information, military record, physical and mental health information, substance abuse history), and the defendant's criminal record and prior record score. It also identifies important information such as the calculation of credit for time served when the defendant was incarcerated prior to sentencing. In most cases, both the defendant and the victim are contacted by probation to assist in the completion of the PSI.
History
Judges have made widespread use of presentence investigation reports since at least the 1920s, according to the Center on Juvenile and Criminal Justice. The PSI's roots can be traced to Boston in the 1840s. The U.S. Probation Department conducts a presentence investigation and prepares a report for almost every federal criminal conviction. State laws vary, with some requiring the reports for all felony cases or for defendants who face incarceration.
Report Contents
The PSI may include a description of the offense and details about the defendant's prior criminal convictions, background, education, work history, drug and alcohol use, psychiatric disorders and medical history. It may also contain details about harm to victims, victim impact statements, the defendant's statement and sentencing guidelines
Purpose
The PSI provides the court with a complete picture of the defendant. A judge reviews the report before determining a sentence. Corrections officials also use the report to determine placement and types of programs that may benefit an inmate. For example, a defendant might be assigned to GED classes or a substance abuse program.
Hidden Link - Login or Register
Comment: Good answer
Question 24 of 26 4.0 Points
How and why has parole changed in the past twenty years?
How and why has parole changed in the past twenty years?
During the early 1920s the prison population increased significantly from new commitments, tightened paroles and an increase in the number of parolees returned on violations. At this time the Governor's office controlled all paroles and pardons in the state and Groesbeck personally regulated the number of people being released from prison. During his six years as governor, Groesbeck drastically reduced the number of paroles. They dropped from an average of 48 percent to 40 percent of eligible prisoners paroled with a low in 1922 of 30 percent. Restrictions on parolees were then so strict that a person could be sent back for almost anything and Groesbeck instructed the Department of Public Safety to return as many violators as possible. During the 1920s, the granting of parole came under increased scrutiny, since access to freedom was the biggest gift one could bestow upon a prisoner. Parole had become somewhat of a commodity and allegations arose that paroles were being bought and sold. In 1926 a grand jury was convened to investigate the sale of parole which revealed it to be the biggest business behind the walls.
Between 1932 and 1936 the state's prison population steadily declined to a ten-year low. Parolees in each year had run well ahead of new commitments. Reforms in 1937 reversed this pattern. The 1937 Public Act 255, known as the Corrections Law, again revised the parole system. The total number of paroles and the percentage of paroles granted to petitioners fell sharply. The next change came about when the head of the Parole Board insisted that parole be determined according to criteria of the board's making without interference from prison officials. Paroles, always closely controlled by the Governor even after the creation of a Commissioner of Pardons and Paroles, came under the control of the Assistant Director of the Bureau of Pardons and Paroles. He also headed the newly created three-member Parole Board.
Access to freedom was the biggest prize that a prisoner could earn and increased access to parole was one of the eleven demands produced during the 1952 riot at Jackson prison. It stated that "a letter on prison stationery should ask the parole board to revise its procedure to give equal treatment to all inmates.
Notable themes of the 1950s included the full implementation of individual treatment programs linked to parole. The importance of parole as part of an effort to reduce the population increased and a new Parole Camp was built near Jackson prison where inmates spent thirty or more days prior to being released. In April of 1954 a Parole Board Counseling Meeting stressed a new Counselor-Parole Board relationship. Counselors were to be seen as pre-parole preparation staff. By the 1960s treatment programs came even more into vogue. Effective treatment programs justified early release and helped relieve Michigan's crowded prison system. Well publicized treatment programs such as the pre-parole camp, helped to justify to the public early release of convicts. The idea of treatment also substantiated the expanded use of programs. The changing political and social climate of the 60s and 70s began to discredit the treatment model. The system of positive reinforcement operating today was the outgrowth of that model.
In 1992, Governor John Engler ordered a reorganization of the Michigan Parole Board which was enacted into law. It consisted of ten full-time, non-civil service employees appointed by the Director of the MDOC. In 2009, Governor Jennifer Granholm signed executive order 2009-20, which abolished the Michigan Parole Board and established a 15 member Michigan Parole and Commutation Board, consisting of non-Civil Service employees who are to be appointed by the Governor of the State of Michigan.
In 2011, Governor Rick Snyder signed executive order 2011-03, which abolished the Michigan Parole and Commutation Board and established a 10 member Michigan Parole Board, consisting on non-Civil Service employees who are appointed by the Director of the Michigan Department of Corrections. Their backgrounds are varied and include law enforcement, law, corrections and social work. The Parole Board's mission is to keep public safety as its number one priority. While the policies and control of parole and the Parole Board have undergone dramatic changes along with the entire corrections system, the mechanics of the parole process have remained constant for decades.
Parole from past to present. (2003). Michigan Department of Correction
Comment: Very informative answer
Question 25 of 26 4.0 Points
Discuss several promising parole strategies as well as the future of parole.
Discuss several promising parole strategies as well as the future of parole.
Incapacitation : The concept of incapacitation is simple for as long as offenders are incarcerated they clearly cannot commit crimes outside of prison. Crime is reduced because the incarcerated offenders are prevented from committing crimes in the community. At least while they are in prison, they cannot continue to commit crimes. A secondary benefit of incarceration is thought to be the indirect effect of deterring or inhibiting others from committing crimes because of the threat of incarceration general deterrence effect. Furthermore, individuals who spend time in prison may be deterred from continuing their criminal activities when they are released a specific deterrence effect.
Most people accept the notion that crime prevention through incapacitation is a primary justification of imprisonment (Zimring and Hawkins 1995). Generally accepted also, is the fact that some individuals should be incapacitated for long periods of time because of the seriousness of their offenses and the threat they pose if released. Questions arise over how broadly the incapacitation strategy should be used and whether it is a cost efficient and effective crime prevention strategy. Some ask that prison space be reserved for only a small select group of dangerous repeat offenders. Others advocate a general incapacitation strategy that would incarcerate a substantial number of felons. The success of incapacitation in reducing crime in the community remains a controversial subject.
Deterrence: Deterrence strategies are based on early criminological theory proposing that sufficiently repugnant punishments will inhibit individuals from committing crime. However, this is secondary to the primary mechanism that is expected to have an impact on crime prevention for these strategies. Here, the programs classified as deterrence are those with a primary purpose of deterring either the individual offender or others through the repugnant nature of the sanction. At the individual level, specific deterrence is explained by the fact that the pain generated by the punishment will serve to discourage future criminality. It assumes a rational choice model of decision making where the offender perceives that the cost and benefits of punishment are not outweighed by the crime. General deterrence refers to the impact of the threatened punishment has on other potential offenders, thus reducing the chance that they will commit crimes.
Deterrence is the rationale given for programs such as Scared Straight, chain gangs and shock probation. These are distinguished from other strategies because the major emphasis is on the punitive nature of the punishment and not on reducing crime through restraint, discipline or challenge. Another deterrence strategy is that of fines, particularly day fines. These fines are designed to be fair given the difference in the economic circumstances of the individual offenders thereby making this sanction more punitive than the tradition fines.
Rehabilitation and Treatment: In contrast to incapacitation, rehabilitation strategies focus on changing individual offenders so they will not continue their criminal activities. The research goal is to identify and understand the individual differences that explain criminal behavior and how interventions can be used to change individuals so they will not continue to commit crimes. The work is based on psychological theories of learning, cognition and the general principles of human development applied to the analysis of illegal behavior (Andrews and Bonta 1994). Research has focused on examining the components of programs that are effective in reducing recidivism.
Since the mid-1970s there have been major changes in how the courts and corrections manage offenders in this country. One of the most visible influences on this change was the report by Martinson (1974) that was widely interpreted as showing that "nothing works" in rehabilitation. Distilled from a larger coauthored research report by Lipton, Martinson, and Wilks (1975), Martinson's essay described the results of the research teams' assessment of 231 evaluations of treatment programs conducted between 1945 and 1967. From this research, he concluded "With few and isolated exceptions the rehabilitative efforts that have been reported so far have had no appreciable effect on recidivism.
Community Restraints: Many of the sanctions and correctional options categorized as community restraints are frequently referred to as intermediate sanctions or alternative punishments. However, here the term community restraint refers to the fact that a group of these alternative punishments increase the amount of surveillance and control over offenders while they are in the community. In a sense, they might be referred to as "semi-incapacitation" because they are expected to reduce offenders' ability to commit crimes. Examples of restraint programs are intensive supervision, house arrest, electronic monitoring, and halfway houses. Theoretically, increasing the surveillance and control over offenders in the community will prevent criminal activities by reducing both their capacity and their opportunity to commit crimes. Additionally, it is expected that the punitive nature of the sanctions will act as a specific deterrence to reduce the offenders future criminal activity.
In response to the record numbers of convicted offenders and widespread prison crowding, correctional officials in recent years have expanded the range of intermediate sanctions that fall between traditional probation and complete incarceration (Cullen, Wright, and Applegate 1996; Tonry and Lynch 1996; Byrne, Lurigio and Petersilia; Harland 1996; Smykla and Selke 1995). House arrest, intensive supervision, curfew, day reporting and other intermediate sanctions fulfill many purposes. They provide graduated punishments that may be more appropriate than either probation or prison for some offenses, and they maintain a higher level of offender restraint and accountability than does standard probation or parole supervision. In addition, intermediate sanctions may provide enhanced levels of treatment or services for problems that are common among criminal offenders, such as drug abuse, low education levels and unemployment. Finally, when used in lieu of confinement, intermediate sanctions may reduce prison or jail populations and associated costs.
Andrews, D.A., & Bonta, J. (1994). The Psychology of Criminal Conduct.
Cincinnati, OH: Anderson Publishing Co.
Byrne, J.M., Lurigo,A.J., Petersilia, J. (1996). Smart Sentencing: The
Emergence of Intermediate Sanctions. Newbury Park, CA: Sage
Publications.
Cullen, F.T., Wright, J.P. & Applegate, B.K. (1996). Control in the community:
The limits of reform? In A.T. Harland Choosing correctional options that
work: defining the demand and evaluating the supply. Thousand Oaks,
CA: Sage Publications Company.
Lipton, D., Martinson, R., & Wilks, J. (1975). The effectiveness of correctional
treatment: A survey of treatment evaluation studies. New York: Praeger.
Martinson, R (1974). What works? -Questions and answers about prison
reform. The Public Smykla, J. O & Selke, W. L. (Eds.) (1995). Intermediate
Sanctions: Sentencing in the 1990s. Cincinnati, OH: Anderson Publishing
Co.
Tonry, M., & Lynch, M. (1996). Intermediate sanctions. In M. Tonry. (Ed.).
Crime and justice: a review of research, vol.20. Chicago, IL: The University
of Chicago Press.
Comment: Good answer
Question 26 of 26 4.0 Points
Explain the functions and types of temporary release programs.
. Short-Term Temporary Release Programs
There are three types of short-term temporary release programs: (a) leaves of absence, (b) community service programs, and (c) furloughs. Participation in a community service program may be short-term or continuous.
(a). Leaves of Absence
Leaves of absence are different from other release programs because you do not need to be within two years of being eligible for release on parole in order to qualify. A leave of absence, according to Section 851.6 of the N.Y. Correction Law, is a privilege granted to you to leave the facility for a certain period of time for one of three specific purposes:
(1) If death appears to be imminent, you may leave to visit your spouse, child, brother, sister,
grandchild, parent (natural or legally adoptive), grandparent, or ancestral aunt or uncle during their last illness;
(2) To attend a funeral of such individual; or
(3) To undergo surgery or to receive medical or dental treatment not available at the facility, but only if it is absolutely necessary to your health and well-being.
b). Community Services Program
Under the community services program, eligible prisoners may be granted the privilege of leaving the facility for up to fourteen hours on any day in order to volunteer at nonprofit organizations or public agencies (for example, hospitals or charities). These organizations must have an established volunteer program with a definite job description outlining the duties and responsibilities of a volunteer. You may not fill a position ordinarily taken by a paid worker. Participants in a volunteer work program will receive an allowance from the facility’s Temporary Release Program appropriations.
(c) . Furloughs
A furlough program allows eligible prisoners to leave an institution for up to seven days in order to:
(1) Solve family problems or maintain family ties;
(2) Attend a short educational course;
(3) Look for a job; or
(4) Seek post-release housing.
2. Short-Term Temporary Release Procedures
As soon as you are approved for participation in a short-term temporary release program, you will be notified so that you may make the arrangements necessary to complete the program. If the TRC feels that there is not enough information about your requested residence, the individuals with whom you will be staying, or any other part of your case, it will investigate the problem. If the result of the investigation is negative, you may be denied that residence.
You will usually be allowed to bring no more than $100 over and above your transportation costs on a short-term release. If you cannot afford transportation, your release may be postponed until you have the money. If you are leaving the facility on short-term release, you must cover all expenses of the trip. In exceptional cases, however, the facility may grant you an advance in order to cover the costs of the trip. You will receive a photo identification card to carry for the duration of your temporary release. This card must be with you at all times when you are out of the facility.26 You will also be required to sign a “Memorandum of Agreement” before you leave, which lists the rules and regulations that you must follow while on temporary release, as well as any special conditions that apply specifically to you. You will not be allowed to return to the facility with any item that you did not take out with you. The law requires that you be supervised by a parole officer during your short-term temporary release.
3. Continuous Temporary Release Programs
There are four different types of continuous temporary release programs. These releases allow eligible and approved prisoners to leave prison grounds for up to fourteen hours a day on a continuous basis. They are granted to let prisoners work, volunteer for community service, get educational or vocational training, or participate in an industrial training leave program. If the Central Office approves you for any long-term temporary release program, that approval also implies that you are approved for all other temporary release programs at the discretion of the TRC and the facility superintendent. There are no out-of-state continuous.
(a) Work Release
The work release program allows an eligible prisoner to leave a facility for up to fourteen hours in anyone day to work, get on-the-job training, or do any activity that will make employment possible, like shopping for work clothes. One of the purposes of work release is to make it possible for you to accumulate savings prior to your release on parole, in the hope that this will make your return to the community easier. Prisoners are expected to secure their own employment, which most are able to do fairly quickly. Prisoners at the Rochester Correctional Facility, for example, have secured positions over the years with hundreds of different employers in the area, including Xerox, Kodak, the University of Rochester, and Strong Memorial Hospital.31 In addition to their full working schedules, those prisoners are responsible for
cleaning their rooms and the facility’s communal areas. Dinner is provided every night at the Rochester facility, but those prisoners prepare their own breakfasts and lunches, and do their own laundry. Work release is by far the most popular temporary release program, both in the number of applications and in the number of prisoners who are approved. Work release figures from 2009 show 26,845 applications were received, and only 2,032 prisoners ended up being able to participate.
(b) Educational Leave
The educational leave program allows a prisoner to leave a facility for up to fourteen hours in any day to attend school or vocational training. Before you can apply for an academic college release program in New York City, Long Island, Westchester, Rockland, Suffolk, or Nassau Counties, you must have completed six semester hours of college level study with a passing grade and have applied to a college within commuting distance of a participating facility. However, to participate in an educational release program from an upstate correctional facility or in a vocational training program upstate or in the New York metropolitan area, you do not have to complete six credit hours of college level study. For either program, you must submit your temporary release application to the facility TRC by July for the fall semester, November for the spring semester, and April for the summer semester. Educational leave is one of the most rare of the temporary release programs. In 2009, for example, only six prisoners applied, and not a single prisoner was approved.34 This should not discourage you from applying if you are qualified, but you should at least be aware that it may be difficult to get.
(c) Community Services Program
The community services program allows prisoners to leave the facility for up to fourteen hours a day in order to participate in religious services, athletic events, volunteer work, or cultural events not offered at the facility. An example of the volunteer work that is available is the work done by prisoners in Syracuse. They commute to the fairgrounds there and work with the staff to maintain the grounds and repair the buildings.36 The advantage of participating in the continuous community service program is that once accepted, you will not have to reapply in order to get released. That is, so long as your disciplinary record remains the same, you will be able to leave your facility for up to fourteen hours a day, week after week.
4. Continuous Temporary Release Procedures
In order to qualify for a continuous temporary release, you must first apply and be approved at the facility level. If you are approved, you may be transferred to a different correctional facility that has the temporary release program for which you applied. When you arrive at the new facility, you will be interviewed by a corrections counselor and a temporary release parole officer. You will participate in an orientation program that will introduce you to the facility and to the program.
5. Family Reunion Program
f you do not qualify for either the leave of absence for funeral or deathbed visits, or the furlough family ties programs, you may still have another chance to visit with your family. The Family Reunion Program allows selected prisoners and their families to meet privately for an extended period of time. This program has nothing to do with the temporary release program. Rather, it is part of visitation and is only available to those prisoners who are not eligible for the temporary release program. Any prisoner may apply if his facility offers the program.
Brian S. Fischer, Department of Correctional Services, Temporary Release
Program: 2007 Annual Report 17.
New York State Department of Correctional Services, Industrial Training
Program, availablehttp://www.docs.state.ny.us/ProgramServices/industries.html#indu (last visited March 28, 2011); see also Corcraft Products, available at Hidden Link - Login or Register (last visited March 28, 2011).
Rochester: First Among Work Release Centers, available at
Hidden Link - Login or Register MotorCity/Downs/3548/ facility/rochester.html (last
visited March 28, 2011)
Comment: Good use of outside sources.
Final Exam
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Part 1 of 1 - 100.0 Points
Question 1 of 5 20.0 Points
Identify and describe the factors related to the emergence of community-based corrections.
Despite a steady, 10-year decrease in crime and arrest rates, Connecticut has struggled with the persistent growth of the inmate population and a high rate of recidivism among convicted offenders under supervision. The primary solution to prior prison overcrowding problems had been to add prison beds by building new facilities or expanding others. During the 1990s, almost 10,000 new beds costing well over $1 billion were added, but less than five years after the comprehensive construction project was completed the Department of Correction was again operating at capacity. The department has transferred 500 inmates to out-of-state prisons and has begun a 600-bed prison expansion project to relieve the current overcrowding crisis.
In 2000, the program review committee conducted a study to identify the main factors causing the prison overcrowding problem and the options available to the legislative and executive and judicial branches to control the growth of the inmate population. Specifically, the study examined the state's criminal sentencing laws and significant sentencing reforms enacted since the 1970s, the capacity of the correction system and community-based supervision and service network, and the offender population and sentencing trends.
Prison overcrowding has a cyclical pattern in Connecticut reaching a crisis point about every 10 years. Whereas statistics showed most of the causes of prison overcrowding occurred outside the administration and jurisdiction of the Department of Correction and these complex issues and problems cannot be addressed by a single state agency. Specifically, the program review committee identified five main causes of prison overcrowding. They are:
• Despite the decrease in arrest and crime rates, the number of offenders in prison or jail continued to increase due to the war on drugs, increased funding for police, increased role of victims and victim advocacy groups in the court process, added bed capacity in the correctional system, recidivism and technical violations of probation and parole, harsher penalties for certain types of crimes, and narrowed eligibility for community release and alternative sanction options.
.Convicted inmates were remaining incarcerated for a greater portion of their court-imposed prison sentences as a result of the shift from an indeterminate to a determinate sentencing structure, elimination of good time, creation of time-served standards for parole eligibility, and the enactment of several "truth in sentencing" initiatives.
• The aggressive tough on crime approach supported by the legislature and adopted by the executive and judicial branches allows the criminal justice system to narrow its use of discretion and take a more conservative and less controversial approach to punishment.
• A lack of prison beds, especially high security and pre-trial beds, forced DOC to operate at capacity.
• Poor planning and a lack of an accurate population projection and offender needs analysis contributed to the cycle of overcrowding and hampered DOC's efforts to adequately plan for new or expanded facilities.
Question 2 of 5 20.0 Points
Identify and discuss the factors and situations which initially hampered the expansion of community-based corrections. In other words, explain why just as the Great Society came to be seen as a dream that was never fully realized, community-based corrections was revealed to be a strategy with many strengths, but also some limitations.
Financial considerations also prompted interest in community-based programs. By the 1970s, prison expansion and the economics of housing and supervising inmates put severe strains on state budgets, and community correctional programs are much less costly than those involving total confinement. With their diversity of midrange sanctions, community based programs offered a relatively low-cost panacea to crime problems. Community-based correctional programs take numerous formats. Pretrial release prevents unneeded jailing of offenders posing no flight risk because they have established roots in the community or threat to society. Offenders may be released on bail or on their own recognizance prior to trial, often under supervision and with restrictions on travel. Pretrial release without bond release on recognizance, with a penalty incurred only if a court appearance is missed, benefits those who might be jailed simply because they could not afford to put up bond.
Diversion programs may be offered to offenders both before and following criminal justice processing. Either way, the aim is to provide individualized assistance in resolving the problems that generate unlawful behaviors. Offenders may be directed to conflict resolution programs, including mediation services, which focus on the issues that led to criminal charges. Some locales maintain community courts, in which neighborhood residents partner with criminal justice agencies to offer non-adversarial adjudication of low level offenses and controversies. Diversionary approaches with predominantly rehabilitative aims combine release with participation in a problem specific diversion program such as substance abuse treatment, mental health counseling, and job training and assistance. In some jurisdictions, substance abusers are initially referred to drug courts. These specialized courts have been successful particularly in providing supervision and treatment for drug offenders, while freeing up criminal justice resources for more serious crimes. Offenders are monitored and face immediate sanctions for continued drug use. Other offenders may be directed to educational programs, as much of the traditional inmate population is not literate and not apt to have completed high school. Some rehabilitation programs work with all affected family members.
House arrest, another in-community criminal sanction, requires offenders be in their residence during specified times each day. Offenders might be allowed to leave home for work, counseling, education, and other rehabilitation activities. Enforcement of house arrest may be manually through phone calls or electronically through sensors locked to the offenders' ankles or wrists. The latter tracking devices alert authorities when offenders venture from a prescribed territory. These practices allow offenders to engage in legitimate occupations, raise children, and avoid entanglement with criminogenic influences, as would be the case if they were incarcerated.
Boot camps usually are designed for younger offenders perceived to lack self-restraint and respect for authority, thus requiring external structuring. Camps are typically set in natural settings. Their living conditions, organizational structures, and emphases on discipline and physical fitness are modeled after military training. Advocates of boot camps hope to give participants a sense of accomplishment and to get them off drugs. Critics argue the boot camps are often overly harsh and abusive, leave participants with few additional skills, and bear limited success. Such programs may need to be coupled with extensive post release supervision to effectively change offenders' lifestyles.
Fines, restitution, and community service provide retribution and can act as rehabilitation and deterrent. Restitution may require that offenders make reparations for the losses they have caused their victims, or it may require offenders do community service in amends for harms caused society. Setting appropriate financial penalties can be problematic, both in determining amounts proportionate to the offense and in setting amounts appropriate to the economic status of the offender. Some jurisdictions solve such dilemmas by imposing day fines, proportionate to the amount of the offender's earnings. Collecting such debts is problematic: Offenders often are in poor financial state to begin with or come to feel their obligations unfair. Financial penalties can be used to underwrite the criminal justice process.
One of the initial impetuses for community oriented corrections was the notion of restorative justice, the view that criminal proceedings should focus on the predicaments of all parties involved in a criminal incident, should repair the harm done the actual people involved in a criminal incident, and should focus on the future rather than the past. Restorative justice sees crime as an act that violates individual victims, their families, and the community, rather than the state. It places primacy on offender accountability and responsibility and on reparations rather than punitiveness. Critics contend that restorative justice processes jeopardize such defendant rights as the presumption of innocence and the right to assistance of legal counsel.
Belmont, CA: Wadsworth/Thomson Learning. Latessa, Edward J.
and Harry E. Allen. 2003. Corrections in the Community. 3rd ed.
Cincinnati, OH: Anderson/LexusNexus.
Cromwell, Paul F., Leanne Fiftal Alarid, and Rolando V. del
Carmen. 2005. Community-Based Corrections. 6th ed
Question 3 of 5 20.0 Points
Explain how probation is currently administered in the United States. Also, discuss why the authors believe that probation ought to be located within the executive branch of government.
Probation in the United States is administered by hundreds of independent agencies operating under different state laws and following different philosophies. Over half of the 1,920 agencies that administer adult probation services are operated at the state level (26 states), and the rest are administered by combination of state/county and or county or municipal agencies. Texas, for example, has over 100 independent, local district probation agencies that handle adult probation cases.
In general, probation services in the United States are organized into five administrative models:
• Juvenile. Over half of all juvenile probation services (2,120 agencies) are administered at the local level or by a combination of local and state agencies, and the rest are administered solely by state agencies (16 states). In all cases, the administration of juvenile probation is separate from adult probation services.
• Municipal/County. Probation units are directed by the trial courts following state law and guidelines and are operated and funded by local governments. (This administrative model operates only in California and Washington D.C.).
• State. A state-level executive agency administers a central probation and/or a combined probation and parole system that provides services throughout the state. (New Mexico for example, has a state-administered agency that provides both parole and probation services).
• State combined. In this model programs are administered locally but funded at the state level. (The state of Pennsylvania for example, provides funds to county probation departments through a grant-in-aid program).
• Federal. Probation is administered as an arm of the federal courts.
`The organizational structure of probation in California in which the trial courts direct the activities of local probation units is unusual. The only other jurisdiction in which adult probation is the sole responsibility of local government is Washington D.C. California is also the only state that does not serve as the primary funding source for local probation, leaving this responsibility to local county governments. (Federal and state grants have been utilized increasingly by local probation departments but they do not provide a continuous funding stream).
National Trends in Probation Supervision
There are approximately 72,000 probation and parole officers across the United States involved in direct the supervision of adult offenders:
• 29,974 officers supervise probation offenders,
• 31,209 officers supervise a combination of parole and probation offenders, and
• 10,883 officers supervise only parole offenders.
According to the American Parole and Probation Association, the adult probation population grew from 2,670,234 in 1990 to 3,932,751 offenders in 2001, an increase of 32.3 percent. Fifty-three percent of all probationers were convicted of a felony, 45 percent of a misdemeanor, and one percent of other infractions. Twenty-five percent were placed on probation for a drug violation, and 18 percent for driving while intoxicated.
Four states experienced an increase of ten percent or more in their probation populations in 2001, led by Maine (15 percent), Colorado, Kentucky, and Virginia (12 percent each). California’s adult probation population has remained relatively stable over the last ten years (about 300,000 offenders). In contrast, the adult probation population has decreased in 17 states, led by Nevada (14 percent decrease). Idaho has the highest rate of probationers per 100,000 residents (3,747), while New Hampshire has the lowest (9,385).
While there is no official tabulation of the number of probation officers who supervise juvenile offenders, the National Center for Juvenile Justice is sometimes able to provide information on the number of probation personnel involved in juvenile supervision. Most states do not consistently collect this information, and those that do, do not distinguish between supervising and administration personnel.
Probation departments across the country suffer from declining resources in the face of increasing service demands. They generally receive less than ten percent of state and local government funding for corrections. Contrasted to appropriations for prisons, probation funding has been on the decline for 30 years.
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Question 4 of 5 20.0 Points
Discuss the treatment alternatives for alcoholics and problem drinkers. Which of the treatment alternatives are the most effective?
Although Alcoholics Anonymous and other abstinence-based 12-step programs are the primary form of treatment for alcoholism in the United States, many people are unable to stick with them and return to dependence on alcohol. Today there are alternatives to 12-step programs. Some treatment programs teach problem drinkers to reduce their drinking, an approach that appeals to people who otherwise might not seek treatment. These programs are based on the belief that people can change their drinking behaviors. To be successful at moderation or abstinence requires effort and a commitment to change. Many people are looking for an alternative alcoholism treatment these days because traditional treatment is just not working very effectively and alcoholism continues to grow into a bigger problem in our society. There are several treatment approaches available today that call themselves alternative, such as, women for sobriety, narconon, centers who promote controlled drinking, cognitive/behavioral approaches and those who focus on the choice aspect. As with any illness, different people respond to different treatments in different ways. Alcoholism is no different. What works for one, may not work for another. However, many people are surprised to find that an alternative alcoholism treatment even exists, because it doesn't receive any coverage or promotion. Most people are unaware that they actually have options for alcoholism. Alternative simply means counter to what you find in the main stream or traditional treatment centers, which is usually a 12 step program and alcoholics anonymous.
The word alternative does not imply less effective, as a matter of a fact, alternative alcoholism treatment that incorporates a biochemical approach, is between 74 to 84 percent successful, compared to only .01 or .02 percent in traditional treatment. You are more likely to achieve long-term sobriety. A holistic and biochemical approach empowers the individual and you aren't forced to be dependent on meetings the rest of your life. You are not powerless over alcohol. Alcoholism is a multi-dimensional disease. Meaning it affects every aspect of an individual on a very deep and profound level. A holistic approach addresses each of these levels. A complete alcoholism treatment approach needs to address the physical, psychological and spiritual. AA and the 12 steps do not address the physical and their approach to the psychological and spiritual is shame based instead of empowering. The main difference in a biochemical approach to treatment is that alcoholism is treated truly as the physical disease that it is. Although most mainstream treatment calls alcoholism a physical illness or disease, they continue to treat it as a psychological or spiritual illness. That is why success rates for sobriety are so low. In the biochemical approach, emotional or psychological issues such as depression, anxiety, mood swings, irritability are seen as having the same root cause as alcoholism disrupted neurotransmitters. Making biochemical repairs is the most important missing piece of the puzzle in traditional treatment.
Question 5 of 5 20.0 Points
Describe the extent of the problems faced by correctional agencies with regard to sex offenders.
According to the United States Department of Justice, by the beginning of the 21st century, one in four residents of the USA were under the age of 18. Therefore, providing services for this significant segment of the population necessarily is a priority. Because such a large number of U.S. citizens are minors, the juvenile justice system in the country is facing demands on resources that have not been seen before in the history of the nation. Consequently, a number of particular problems associated with the juvenile justice system have been identified over the course of the past several years. major problem associated with the juvenile justice system is the lack of appropriate and suitable mental health services. This includes a lack of community-based services for juvenile offenders who are not in detention. With growing numbers of minors entering the juvenile justice system each and every month, stretched resources have created problems associated with the proper placement of offenders. Pursuant to the laws governing juvenile justice systems in all 50 states, when a juvenile is determined to be a juvenile offender as the result of an adjudication, the court is obliged to place that minor into the least restrictive environment possible. In other words, an adjudicated juvenile offender should not be placed into a "lock down" detention center unless there is no other appropriate placement for that child. Moreover, detention facilities in many instances also lack an appropriate level of suitable and sufficient mental health services for juvenile offenders.
Comment: Appreciate the hard work on this final. You forgot citations and references on this answer.
http://biology-forums.com/index.php?topic=50118.0
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Part 1 of 1 - 100.0 Points
Question 1 of 26 4.0 Points
European approaches to correctional strategies largely reflect those found in the United States.
A. True
B. False
Answer Key: False
Question 2 of 26 4.0 Points
Most people who work in community-based correctional programs do so because they want to have a positive impact on the world around them by enhancing public safety, aiding offenders in need, or increasing offender accountability for their actions.
A. True
B. False
Answer Key: True
Question 3 of 26 4.0 Points
While many drug courts focusing on treatment handle only drug possession cases, some accept low-level drug sale cases and others process any drug felony.
A. True
B. False
Answer Key: True
Question 4 of 26 4.0 Points
Probation took from in the United States, but it was essentially an outgrowth of several practices found in English common law. Probation developed as a variation of the English practice of the conditional suspension of punishment pending the offender's good behavior.
A. True
B. False
Answer Key: True
Question 5 of 26 4.0 Points
By 1924, every state had adopted probation as a form of correctional disposition.
A. True
B. False
Answer Key: False
Question 6 of 26 4.0 Points
The word "parole" comes from the English term "stuparole" which referred to inmates who no longer posed a threat to society.
A. True
B. False
Answer Key: False
Question 7 of 26 4.0 Points
When pardoned felons arrived in the American colonies, their services were sold to the highest bidder and the shipmaster then transferred the "property in service" agreement to the new master.
A. True
B. False
Answer Key: True
Question 8 of 26 4.0 Points
Similar to the transportation of offenders to the American colonies, British offenders who were transferred to Australia became indentured servants.
A. True
B. False
Answer Key: False
Question 9 of 26 4.0 Points
The consolidated model of parole services has not gained much of a foothold at the adult level of corrections, but it appears to be the preferred method for placing juveniles on aftercare services following a more intensive incarceration.
A. True
B. False
Answer Key: False
Question 10 of 26 4.0 Points
Question 11 of 26 0.0 Points
One of the most promising strategies developed but unfortunately not in use today is mutual agreement programming, which is essentially a contract between the state and the offender regarding the date of release from prison.
A. True
B. False
Answer Key: True
Question 12 of 26 4.0 Points
Which of the following is one of Clear's five "crime and place" challenges for community corrections?
A. geography
B. biology
C. spatial patterning and coding
D. felony physics
Answer Key: A
Question 13 of 26 4.0 Points
Which of the following best depicts the typical offender on probation?
A. Hispanic male
B. black male
C. white male
D. a female
Answer Key: C
Question 14 of 26 4.0 Points
___________ professionals in the field of probation services seem to agree that a flexible approach should be taken with regard to probation conditions.
A. Few
B. About half of all
C. Most
D. All
Answer Key: C
Question 15 of 26 4.0 Points
Currently, two major forces are reshaping parole: the continuing trend toward limiting judges' sentencing authority and:
A. more violent parolees
B. limited resources
C. the reduction of parole authorities' discretion to release offenders
D. lack of cooperation between parole authorities and the courts
Answer Key: C
Question 16 of 26 4.0 Points
The decision in Greenholtz vs. Inmates of the Nebraska Penal and Correctional Complex stated that parole was - and continues to be - a ______ device.
A. rehabilitative
B. punitive
C. incapacitative
D. retributive
Answer Key: A
Question 17 of 26 4.0 Points
Three British correctional practices played an especially important role in the emergence of parole in the United States in 1876: the policy of transportation, the use of conditional pardon, and the _____________.
A. watchmaker's plea
B. ticket of leave
C. doctrine of diversion
D. shoemaker's policy
Answer Key: B
Question 18 of 26 4.0 Points
In studying whether probation and parole officers with smaller caseloads would have more time to spend with their clients and thus a greater impact on their reform, the San Francisco Project found:
A. no link between caseload size and offender rehabilitation
B. a strong link between caseload size and offender rehabilitation
C. that drug offenders received the greatest benefit
D. that sex offenders received the greatest benefit
Answer Key: A
Question 19 of 26 4.0 Points
_______ approaches involve an offender being sent to an ISP before incarceration occurs.
A. Tertiary
B. Primary
C. Front-end
D. Proactive security
Answer Key: C
Question 20 of 26 4.0 Points
The contemporary boot camp movement originated in _________ in 1983.
A. Texas
B. California
C. Georgia
D. Florida
Answer Key: C
Question 21 of 26 4.0 Points
The Harris County CRIPP facility is a:
A. maximum security prison
B. day reporting center
C. boot camp
D. tent village used to confine those sentenced to jail
Answer Key: C
Question 22 of 26 4.0 Points
Explain how probation is currently administered in the United States. Also, discuss why the authors believe that probation ought to be located within the executive branch of government.
Explain how probation is currently administered in the United States. Also, discuss why the authors believe that probation ought to be located within the executive branch of government.
Probation in the United States is administered by hundreds of independent agencies operating under different state laws and following different philosophies. Over half of the 1,920 agencies that administer adult probation services are operated at the state level (26 states), and the rest are administered by combination of state or county and or county or municipal agencies. Texas, for example, has over 100 independent, local district probation agencies that handle adult probation cases.
In general, probation services in the United States are organized into five administrative models:
• Juvenile. Over half of all juvenile probation services (2,120 agencies) are administered at the local level or by a combination of local and state agencies, and the rest are administered solely by state agencies (16 states). In all cases, the administration of juvenile probation is separate from adult probation services.
• Municipal/County. Probation units are directed by the trial courts following state law and guidelines and are operated and funded by local governments. (This administrative model operates only in California and Washington D.C.).
• State. A state-level executive agency administers a central probation and/or a combined probation and parole system that provides services throughout the state. (New Mexico for example, has a state-administered agency that provides both parole and probation services).
• State combined. In this model programs are administered locally but funded at the state level. (The state of Pennsylvania for example, provides funds to county probation departments through a grant-in-aid program).
• Federal. Probation is administered as an arm of the federal courts.
The role of probation can hardly be underestimated in the modern judicial system. At the same time, specialists (Reiman, 2003) argue concerning the effective application of probation in the modern society. In actuality, one of the major problems is the approach used to probation. To put it more precisely, probation can be either centralized or decentralized. In this regard, specialists (Clear, Cole and Reising, 2008) argue that both centralization and decentralization of probation has its own advantages and drawbacks.
The centralized probation implies the existing of the administrative body that supervises probation at the state level. In such a situation, the administrative body can maintain the control over and supervision of offenders on probation statewide. Basically, centralization allows concentrating data on offenders on probation within one agency, where highly qualified professionals are employed. On the other hand, the decentralization of probation, makes supervision and control over offenders more flexible. What is meant here is the fact that offenders are under the control of the administrative body which operates at the local level, the level of a city or county.
As a result, this agency can perform functions of supervision and control within the city or county limits, while the smaller size of the agency, compared to centralized administrative body, makes it more flexible and able to respond adequately to action or inaction of offenders on probation. Anyway, it is obvious that decentralized probation eliminates such a serious problem of centralized probation as bureaucracy. Therefore, decentralized probation is closer to offenders as well as to the local community and, thus, it can be viewed as more effective, though the prospects of the total shift from centralized to decentralized probation are still uncertain.
Another significant problem of the organization of modern probation is the problem of administration of probation. In this respect, there tow major “rivals” for the administration of probation: judicial branch and executive branch. Traditionally, judicial branch played the dominant role in the administration of probation, but, today, when the trends to decentralization of probation and integration of offenders on probation into local communities grow stronger, the administration of probation by executive branch seems to be more effective because executive branch has larger opportunities to supervise probation and meet the needs of both offenders and local community. Probation Department under the authority of the executive branch would improve public safety, provide better oversight and transparency and save money.
Clear, T.R., J.F. Cole and M.D. Reising. (2008). American Corrections. New
York: Thomson Wadsworth.
Reiman, J. (2006). The Rich Get Richer and The Poor Get Prison. New York:
Random House.
Comment: Very good posting and great research.
Question 23 of 26 4.0 Points
Discuss the purposes of the PSI report. Also, note who prepares these reports.
Discuss the purposes of the PSI report. Also, note who prepares these reports.
Pre-Sentencing Investigation Report, which is prepared by the court's probation department. It is one of the most important documents in the criminal process and provides and outline of the crime, the defendant's personal background and social history (family and marital status, education, employment history, economic information, military record, physical and mental health information, substance abuse history), and the defendant's criminal record and prior record score. It also identifies important information such as the calculation of credit for time served when the defendant was incarcerated prior to sentencing. In most cases, both the defendant and the victim are contacted by probation to assist in the completion of the PSI.
History
Judges have made widespread use of presentence investigation reports since at least the 1920s, according to the Center on Juvenile and Criminal Justice. The PSI's roots can be traced to Boston in the 1840s. The U.S. Probation Department conducts a presentence investigation and prepares a report for almost every federal criminal conviction. State laws vary, with some requiring the reports for all felony cases or for defendants who face incarceration.
Report Contents
The PSI may include a description of the offense and details about the defendant's prior criminal convictions, background, education, work history, drug and alcohol use, psychiatric disorders and medical history. It may also contain details about harm to victims, victim impact statements, the defendant's statement and sentencing guidelines
Purpose
The PSI provides the court with a complete picture of the defendant. A judge reviews the report before determining a sentence. Corrections officials also use the report to determine placement and types of programs that may benefit an inmate. For example, a defendant might be assigned to GED classes or a substance abuse program.
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Comment: Good answer
Question 24 of 26 4.0 Points
How and why has parole changed in the past twenty years?
How and why has parole changed in the past twenty years?
During the early 1920s the prison population increased significantly from new commitments, tightened paroles and an increase in the number of parolees returned on violations. At this time the Governor's office controlled all paroles and pardons in the state and Groesbeck personally regulated the number of people being released from prison. During his six years as governor, Groesbeck drastically reduced the number of paroles. They dropped from an average of 48 percent to 40 percent of eligible prisoners paroled with a low in 1922 of 30 percent. Restrictions on parolees were then so strict that a person could be sent back for almost anything and Groesbeck instructed the Department of Public Safety to return as many violators as possible. During the 1920s, the granting of parole came under increased scrutiny, since access to freedom was the biggest gift one could bestow upon a prisoner. Parole had become somewhat of a commodity and allegations arose that paroles were being bought and sold. In 1926 a grand jury was convened to investigate the sale of parole which revealed it to be the biggest business behind the walls.
Between 1932 and 1936 the state's prison population steadily declined to a ten-year low. Parolees in each year had run well ahead of new commitments. Reforms in 1937 reversed this pattern. The 1937 Public Act 255, known as the Corrections Law, again revised the parole system. The total number of paroles and the percentage of paroles granted to petitioners fell sharply. The next change came about when the head of the Parole Board insisted that parole be determined according to criteria of the board's making without interference from prison officials. Paroles, always closely controlled by the Governor even after the creation of a Commissioner of Pardons and Paroles, came under the control of the Assistant Director of the Bureau of Pardons and Paroles. He also headed the newly created three-member Parole Board.
Access to freedom was the biggest prize that a prisoner could earn and increased access to parole was one of the eleven demands produced during the 1952 riot at Jackson prison. It stated that "a letter on prison stationery should ask the parole board to revise its procedure to give equal treatment to all inmates.
Notable themes of the 1950s included the full implementation of individual treatment programs linked to parole. The importance of parole as part of an effort to reduce the population increased and a new Parole Camp was built near Jackson prison where inmates spent thirty or more days prior to being released. In April of 1954 a Parole Board Counseling Meeting stressed a new Counselor-Parole Board relationship. Counselors were to be seen as pre-parole preparation staff. By the 1960s treatment programs came even more into vogue. Effective treatment programs justified early release and helped relieve Michigan's crowded prison system. Well publicized treatment programs such as the pre-parole camp, helped to justify to the public early release of convicts. The idea of treatment also substantiated the expanded use of programs. The changing political and social climate of the 60s and 70s began to discredit the treatment model. The system of positive reinforcement operating today was the outgrowth of that model.
In 1992, Governor John Engler ordered a reorganization of the Michigan Parole Board which was enacted into law. It consisted of ten full-time, non-civil service employees appointed by the Director of the MDOC. In 2009, Governor Jennifer Granholm signed executive order 2009-20, which abolished the Michigan Parole Board and established a 15 member Michigan Parole and Commutation Board, consisting of non-Civil Service employees who are to be appointed by the Governor of the State of Michigan.
In 2011, Governor Rick Snyder signed executive order 2011-03, which abolished the Michigan Parole and Commutation Board and established a 10 member Michigan Parole Board, consisting on non-Civil Service employees who are appointed by the Director of the Michigan Department of Corrections. Their backgrounds are varied and include law enforcement, law, corrections and social work. The Parole Board's mission is to keep public safety as its number one priority. While the policies and control of parole and the Parole Board have undergone dramatic changes along with the entire corrections system, the mechanics of the parole process have remained constant for decades.
Parole from past to present. (2003). Michigan Department of Correction
Comment: Very informative answer
Question 25 of 26 4.0 Points
Discuss several promising parole strategies as well as the future of parole.
Discuss several promising parole strategies as well as the future of parole.
Incapacitation : The concept of incapacitation is simple for as long as offenders are incarcerated they clearly cannot commit crimes outside of prison. Crime is reduced because the incarcerated offenders are prevented from committing crimes in the community. At least while they are in prison, they cannot continue to commit crimes. A secondary benefit of incarceration is thought to be the indirect effect of deterring or inhibiting others from committing crimes because of the threat of incarceration general deterrence effect. Furthermore, individuals who spend time in prison may be deterred from continuing their criminal activities when they are released a specific deterrence effect.
Most people accept the notion that crime prevention through incapacitation is a primary justification of imprisonment (Zimring and Hawkins 1995). Generally accepted also, is the fact that some individuals should be incapacitated for long periods of time because of the seriousness of their offenses and the threat they pose if released. Questions arise over how broadly the incapacitation strategy should be used and whether it is a cost efficient and effective crime prevention strategy. Some ask that prison space be reserved for only a small select group of dangerous repeat offenders. Others advocate a general incapacitation strategy that would incarcerate a substantial number of felons. The success of incapacitation in reducing crime in the community remains a controversial subject.
Deterrence: Deterrence strategies are based on early criminological theory proposing that sufficiently repugnant punishments will inhibit individuals from committing crime. However, this is secondary to the primary mechanism that is expected to have an impact on crime prevention for these strategies. Here, the programs classified as deterrence are those with a primary purpose of deterring either the individual offender or others through the repugnant nature of the sanction. At the individual level, specific deterrence is explained by the fact that the pain generated by the punishment will serve to discourage future criminality. It assumes a rational choice model of decision making where the offender perceives that the cost and benefits of punishment are not outweighed by the crime. General deterrence refers to the impact of the threatened punishment has on other potential offenders, thus reducing the chance that they will commit crimes.
Deterrence is the rationale given for programs such as Scared Straight, chain gangs and shock probation. These are distinguished from other strategies because the major emphasis is on the punitive nature of the punishment and not on reducing crime through restraint, discipline or challenge. Another deterrence strategy is that of fines, particularly day fines. These fines are designed to be fair given the difference in the economic circumstances of the individual offenders thereby making this sanction more punitive than the tradition fines.
Rehabilitation and Treatment: In contrast to incapacitation, rehabilitation strategies focus on changing individual offenders so they will not continue their criminal activities. The research goal is to identify and understand the individual differences that explain criminal behavior and how interventions can be used to change individuals so they will not continue to commit crimes. The work is based on psychological theories of learning, cognition and the general principles of human development applied to the analysis of illegal behavior (Andrews and Bonta 1994). Research has focused on examining the components of programs that are effective in reducing recidivism.
Since the mid-1970s there have been major changes in how the courts and corrections manage offenders in this country. One of the most visible influences on this change was the report by Martinson (1974) that was widely interpreted as showing that "nothing works" in rehabilitation. Distilled from a larger coauthored research report by Lipton, Martinson, and Wilks (1975), Martinson's essay described the results of the research teams' assessment of 231 evaluations of treatment programs conducted between 1945 and 1967. From this research, he concluded "With few and isolated exceptions the rehabilitative efforts that have been reported so far have had no appreciable effect on recidivism.
Community Restraints: Many of the sanctions and correctional options categorized as community restraints are frequently referred to as intermediate sanctions or alternative punishments. However, here the term community restraint refers to the fact that a group of these alternative punishments increase the amount of surveillance and control over offenders while they are in the community. In a sense, they might be referred to as "semi-incapacitation" because they are expected to reduce offenders' ability to commit crimes. Examples of restraint programs are intensive supervision, house arrest, electronic monitoring, and halfway houses. Theoretically, increasing the surveillance and control over offenders in the community will prevent criminal activities by reducing both their capacity and their opportunity to commit crimes. Additionally, it is expected that the punitive nature of the sanctions will act as a specific deterrence to reduce the offenders future criminal activity.
In response to the record numbers of convicted offenders and widespread prison crowding, correctional officials in recent years have expanded the range of intermediate sanctions that fall between traditional probation and complete incarceration (Cullen, Wright, and Applegate 1996; Tonry and Lynch 1996; Byrne, Lurigio and Petersilia; Harland 1996; Smykla and Selke 1995). House arrest, intensive supervision, curfew, day reporting and other intermediate sanctions fulfill many purposes. They provide graduated punishments that may be more appropriate than either probation or prison for some offenses, and they maintain a higher level of offender restraint and accountability than does standard probation or parole supervision. In addition, intermediate sanctions may provide enhanced levels of treatment or services for problems that are common among criminal offenders, such as drug abuse, low education levels and unemployment. Finally, when used in lieu of confinement, intermediate sanctions may reduce prison or jail populations and associated costs.
Andrews, D.A., & Bonta, J. (1994). The Psychology of Criminal Conduct.
Cincinnati, OH: Anderson Publishing Co.
Byrne, J.M., Lurigo,A.J., Petersilia, J. (1996). Smart Sentencing: The
Emergence of Intermediate Sanctions. Newbury Park, CA: Sage
Publications.
Cullen, F.T., Wright, J.P. & Applegate, B.K. (1996). Control in the community:
The limits of reform? In A.T. Harland Choosing correctional options that
work: defining the demand and evaluating the supply. Thousand Oaks,
CA: Sage Publications Company.
Lipton, D., Martinson, R., & Wilks, J. (1975). The effectiveness of correctional
treatment: A survey of treatment evaluation studies. New York: Praeger.
Martinson, R (1974). What works? -Questions and answers about prison
reform. The Public Smykla, J. O & Selke, W. L. (Eds.) (1995). Intermediate
Sanctions: Sentencing in the 1990s. Cincinnati, OH: Anderson Publishing
Co.
Tonry, M., & Lynch, M. (1996). Intermediate sanctions. In M. Tonry. (Ed.).
Crime and justice: a review of research, vol.20. Chicago, IL: The University
of Chicago Press.
Comment: Good answer
Question 26 of 26 4.0 Points
Explain the functions and types of temporary release programs.
. Short-Term Temporary Release Programs
There are three types of short-term temporary release programs: (a) leaves of absence, (b) community service programs, and (c) furloughs. Participation in a community service program may be short-term or continuous.
(a). Leaves of Absence
Leaves of absence are different from other release programs because you do not need to be within two years of being eligible for release on parole in order to qualify. A leave of absence, according to Section 851.6 of the N.Y. Correction Law, is a privilege granted to you to leave the facility for a certain period of time for one of three specific purposes:
(1) If death appears to be imminent, you may leave to visit your spouse, child, brother, sister,
grandchild, parent (natural or legally adoptive), grandparent, or ancestral aunt or uncle during their last illness;
(2) To attend a funeral of such individual; or
(3) To undergo surgery or to receive medical or dental treatment not available at the facility, but only if it is absolutely necessary to your health and well-being.
b). Community Services Program
Under the community services program, eligible prisoners may be granted the privilege of leaving the facility for up to fourteen hours on any day in order to volunteer at nonprofit organizations or public agencies (for example, hospitals or charities). These organizations must have an established volunteer program with a definite job description outlining the duties and responsibilities of a volunteer. You may not fill a position ordinarily taken by a paid worker. Participants in a volunteer work program will receive an allowance from the facility’s Temporary Release Program appropriations.
(c) . Furloughs
A furlough program allows eligible prisoners to leave an institution for up to seven days in order to:
(1) Solve family problems or maintain family ties;
(2) Attend a short educational course;
(3) Look for a job; or
(4) Seek post-release housing.
2. Short-Term Temporary Release Procedures
As soon as you are approved for participation in a short-term temporary release program, you will be notified so that you may make the arrangements necessary to complete the program. If the TRC feels that there is not enough information about your requested residence, the individuals with whom you will be staying, or any other part of your case, it will investigate the problem. If the result of the investigation is negative, you may be denied that residence.
You will usually be allowed to bring no more than $100 over and above your transportation costs on a short-term release. If you cannot afford transportation, your release may be postponed until you have the money. If you are leaving the facility on short-term release, you must cover all expenses of the trip. In exceptional cases, however, the facility may grant you an advance in order to cover the costs of the trip. You will receive a photo identification card to carry for the duration of your temporary release. This card must be with you at all times when you are out of the facility.26 You will also be required to sign a “Memorandum of Agreement” before you leave, which lists the rules and regulations that you must follow while on temporary release, as well as any special conditions that apply specifically to you. You will not be allowed to return to the facility with any item that you did not take out with you. The law requires that you be supervised by a parole officer during your short-term temporary release.
3. Continuous Temporary Release Programs
There are four different types of continuous temporary release programs. These releases allow eligible and approved prisoners to leave prison grounds for up to fourteen hours a day on a continuous basis. They are granted to let prisoners work, volunteer for community service, get educational or vocational training, or participate in an industrial training leave program. If the Central Office approves you for any long-term temporary release program, that approval also implies that you are approved for all other temporary release programs at the discretion of the TRC and the facility superintendent. There are no out-of-state continuous.
(a) Work Release
The work release program allows an eligible prisoner to leave a facility for up to fourteen hours in anyone day to work, get on-the-job training, or do any activity that will make employment possible, like shopping for work clothes. One of the purposes of work release is to make it possible for you to accumulate savings prior to your release on parole, in the hope that this will make your return to the community easier. Prisoners are expected to secure their own employment, which most are able to do fairly quickly. Prisoners at the Rochester Correctional Facility, for example, have secured positions over the years with hundreds of different employers in the area, including Xerox, Kodak, the University of Rochester, and Strong Memorial Hospital.31 In addition to their full working schedules, those prisoners are responsible for
cleaning their rooms and the facility’s communal areas. Dinner is provided every night at the Rochester facility, but those prisoners prepare their own breakfasts and lunches, and do their own laundry. Work release is by far the most popular temporary release program, both in the number of applications and in the number of prisoners who are approved. Work release figures from 2009 show 26,845 applications were received, and only 2,032 prisoners ended up being able to participate.
(b) Educational Leave
The educational leave program allows a prisoner to leave a facility for up to fourteen hours in any day to attend school or vocational training. Before you can apply for an academic college release program in New York City, Long Island, Westchester, Rockland, Suffolk, or Nassau Counties, you must have completed six semester hours of college level study with a passing grade and have applied to a college within commuting distance of a participating facility. However, to participate in an educational release program from an upstate correctional facility or in a vocational training program upstate or in the New York metropolitan area, you do not have to complete six credit hours of college level study. For either program, you must submit your temporary release application to the facility TRC by July for the fall semester, November for the spring semester, and April for the summer semester. Educational leave is one of the most rare of the temporary release programs. In 2009, for example, only six prisoners applied, and not a single prisoner was approved.34 This should not discourage you from applying if you are qualified, but you should at least be aware that it may be difficult to get.
(c) Community Services Program
The community services program allows prisoners to leave the facility for up to fourteen hours a day in order to participate in religious services, athletic events, volunteer work, or cultural events not offered at the facility. An example of the volunteer work that is available is the work done by prisoners in Syracuse. They commute to the fairgrounds there and work with the staff to maintain the grounds and repair the buildings.36 The advantage of participating in the continuous community service program is that once accepted, you will not have to reapply in order to get released. That is, so long as your disciplinary record remains the same, you will be able to leave your facility for up to fourteen hours a day, week after week.
4. Continuous Temporary Release Procedures
In order to qualify for a continuous temporary release, you must first apply and be approved at the facility level. If you are approved, you may be transferred to a different correctional facility that has the temporary release program for which you applied. When you arrive at the new facility, you will be interviewed by a corrections counselor and a temporary release parole officer. You will participate in an orientation program that will introduce you to the facility and to the program.
5. Family Reunion Program
f you do not qualify for either the leave of absence for funeral or deathbed visits, or the furlough family ties programs, you may still have another chance to visit with your family. The Family Reunion Program allows selected prisoners and their families to meet privately for an extended period of time. This program has nothing to do with the temporary release program. Rather, it is part of visitation and is only available to those prisoners who are not eligible for the temporary release program. Any prisoner may apply if his facility offers the program.
Brian S. Fischer, Department of Correctional Services, Temporary Release
Program: 2007 Annual Report 17.
New York State Department of Correctional Services, Industrial Training
Program, availablehttp://www.docs.state.ny.us/ProgramServices/industries.html#indu (last visited March 28, 2011); see also Corcraft Products, available at Hidden Link - Login or Register (last visited March 28, 2011).
Rochester: First Among Work Release Centers, available at
Hidden Link - Login or Register MotorCity/Downs/3548/ facility/rochester.html (last
visited March 28, 2011)
Comment: Good use of outside sources.
Final Exam
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Part 1 of 1 - 100.0 Points
Question 1 of 5 20.0 Points
Identify and describe the factors related to the emergence of community-based corrections.
Despite a steady, 10-year decrease in crime and arrest rates, Connecticut has struggled with the persistent growth of the inmate population and a high rate of recidivism among convicted offenders under supervision. The primary solution to prior prison overcrowding problems had been to add prison beds by building new facilities or expanding others. During the 1990s, almost 10,000 new beds costing well over $1 billion were added, but less than five years after the comprehensive construction project was completed the Department of Correction was again operating at capacity. The department has transferred 500 inmates to out-of-state prisons and has begun a 600-bed prison expansion project to relieve the current overcrowding crisis.
In 2000, the program review committee conducted a study to identify the main factors causing the prison overcrowding problem and the options available to the legislative and executive and judicial branches to control the growth of the inmate population. Specifically, the study examined the state's criminal sentencing laws and significant sentencing reforms enacted since the 1970s, the capacity of the correction system and community-based supervision and service network, and the offender population and sentencing trends.
Prison overcrowding has a cyclical pattern in Connecticut reaching a crisis point about every 10 years. Whereas statistics showed most of the causes of prison overcrowding occurred outside the administration and jurisdiction of the Department of Correction and these complex issues and problems cannot be addressed by a single state agency. Specifically, the program review committee identified five main causes of prison overcrowding. They are:
• Despite the decrease in arrest and crime rates, the number of offenders in prison or jail continued to increase due to the war on drugs, increased funding for police, increased role of victims and victim advocacy groups in the court process, added bed capacity in the correctional system, recidivism and technical violations of probation and parole, harsher penalties for certain types of crimes, and narrowed eligibility for community release and alternative sanction options.
.Convicted inmates were remaining incarcerated for a greater portion of their court-imposed prison sentences as a result of the shift from an indeterminate to a determinate sentencing structure, elimination of good time, creation of time-served standards for parole eligibility, and the enactment of several "truth in sentencing" initiatives.
• The aggressive tough on crime approach supported by the legislature and adopted by the executive and judicial branches allows the criminal justice system to narrow its use of discretion and take a more conservative and less controversial approach to punishment.
• A lack of prison beds, especially high security and pre-trial beds, forced DOC to operate at capacity.
• Poor planning and a lack of an accurate population projection and offender needs analysis contributed to the cycle of overcrowding and hampered DOC's efforts to adequately plan for new or expanded facilities.
Question 2 of 5 20.0 Points
Identify and discuss the factors and situations which initially hampered the expansion of community-based corrections. In other words, explain why just as the Great Society came to be seen as a dream that was never fully realized, community-based corrections was revealed to be a strategy with many strengths, but also some limitations.
Financial considerations also prompted interest in community-based programs. By the 1970s, prison expansion and the economics of housing and supervising inmates put severe strains on state budgets, and community correctional programs are much less costly than those involving total confinement. With their diversity of midrange sanctions, community based programs offered a relatively low-cost panacea to crime problems. Community-based correctional programs take numerous formats. Pretrial release prevents unneeded jailing of offenders posing no flight risk because they have established roots in the community or threat to society. Offenders may be released on bail or on their own recognizance prior to trial, often under supervision and with restrictions on travel. Pretrial release without bond release on recognizance, with a penalty incurred only if a court appearance is missed, benefits those who might be jailed simply because they could not afford to put up bond.
Diversion programs may be offered to offenders both before and following criminal justice processing. Either way, the aim is to provide individualized assistance in resolving the problems that generate unlawful behaviors. Offenders may be directed to conflict resolution programs, including mediation services, which focus on the issues that led to criminal charges. Some locales maintain community courts, in which neighborhood residents partner with criminal justice agencies to offer non-adversarial adjudication of low level offenses and controversies. Diversionary approaches with predominantly rehabilitative aims combine release with participation in a problem specific diversion program such as substance abuse treatment, mental health counseling, and job training and assistance. In some jurisdictions, substance abusers are initially referred to drug courts. These specialized courts have been successful particularly in providing supervision and treatment for drug offenders, while freeing up criminal justice resources for more serious crimes. Offenders are monitored and face immediate sanctions for continued drug use. Other offenders may be directed to educational programs, as much of the traditional inmate population is not literate and not apt to have completed high school. Some rehabilitation programs work with all affected family members.
House arrest, another in-community criminal sanction, requires offenders be in their residence during specified times each day. Offenders might be allowed to leave home for work, counseling, education, and other rehabilitation activities. Enforcement of house arrest may be manually through phone calls or electronically through sensors locked to the offenders' ankles or wrists. The latter tracking devices alert authorities when offenders venture from a prescribed territory. These practices allow offenders to engage in legitimate occupations, raise children, and avoid entanglement with criminogenic influences, as would be the case if they were incarcerated.
Boot camps usually are designed for younger offenders perceived to lack self-restraint and respect for authority, thus requiring external structuring. Camps are typically set in natural settings. Their living conditions, organizational structures, and emphases on discipline and physical fitness are modeled after military training. Advocates of boot camps hope to give participants a sense of accomplishment and to get them off drugs. Critics argue the boot camps are often overly harsh and abusive, leave participants with few additional skills, and bear limited success. Such programs may need to be coupled with extensive post release supervision to effectively change offenders' lifestyles.
Fines, restitution, and community service provide retribution and can act as rehabilitation and deterrent. Restitution may require that offenders make reparations for the losses they have caused their victims, or it may require offenders do community service in amends for harms caused society. Setting appropriate financial penalties can be problematic, both in determining amounts proportionate to the offense and in setting amounts appropriate to the economic status of the offender. Some jurisdictions solve such dilemmas by imposing day fines, proportionate to the amount of the offender's earnings. Collecting such debts is problematic: Offenders often are in poor financial state to begin with or come to feel their obligations unfair. Financial penalties can be used to underwrite the criminal justice process.
One of the initial impetuses for community oriented corrections was the notion of restorative justice, the view that criminal proceedings should focus on the predicaments of all parties involved in a criminal incident, should repair the harm done the actual people involved in a criminal incident, and should focus on the future rather than the past. Restorative justice sees crime as an act that violates individual victims, their families, and the community, rather than the state. It places primacy on offender accountability and responsibility and on reparations rather than punitiveness. Critics contend that restorative justice processes jeopardize such defendant rights as the presumption of innocence and the right to assistance of legal counsel.
Belmont, CA: Wadsworth/Thomson Learning. Latessa, Edward J.
and Harry E. Allen. 2003. Corrections in the Community. 3rd ed.
Cincinnati, OH: Anderson/LexusNexus.
Cromwell, Paul F., Leanne Fiftal Alarid, and Rolando V. del
Carmen. 2005. Community-Based Corrections. 6th ed
Question 3 of 5 20.0 Points
Explain how probation is currently administered in the United States. Also, discuss why the authors believe that probation ought to be located within the executive branch of government.
Probation in the United States is administered by hundreds of independent agencies operating under different state laws and following different philosophies. Over half of the 1,920 agencies that administer adult probation services are operated at the state level (26 states), and the rest are administered by combination of state/county and or county or municipal agencies. Texas, for example, has over 100 independent, local district probation agencies that handle adult probation cases.
In general, probation services in the United States are organized into five administrative models:
• Juvenile. Over half of all juvenile probation services (2,120 agencies) are administered at the local level or by a combination of local and state agencies, and the rest are administered solely by state agencies (16 states). In all cases, the administration of juvenile probation is separate from adult probation services.
• Municipal/County. Probation units are directed by the trial courts following state law and guidelines and are operated and funded by local governments. (This administrative model operates only in California and Washington D.C.).
• State. A state-level executive agency administers a central probation and/or a combined probation and parole system that provides services throughout the state. (New Mexico for example, has a state-administered agency that provides both parole and probation services).
• State combined. In this model programs are administered locally but funded at the state level. (The state of Pennsylvania for example, provides funds to county probation departments through a grant-in-aid program).
• Federal. Probation is administered as an arm of the federal courts.
`The organizational structure of probation in California in which the trial courts direct the activities of local probation units is unusual. The only other jurisdiction in which adult probation is the sole responsibility of local government is Washington D.C. California is also the only state that does not serve as the primary funding source for local probation, leaving this responsibility to local county governments. (Federal and state grants have been utilized increasingly by local probation departments but they do not provide a continuous funding stream).
National Trends in Probation Supervision
There are approximately 72,000 probation and parole officers across the United States involved in direct the supervision of adult offenders:
• 29,974 officers supervise probation offenders,
• 31,209 officers supervise a combination of parole and probation offenders, and
• 10,883 officers supervise only parole offenders.
According to the American Parole and Probation Association, the adult probation population grew from 2,670,234 in 1990 to 3,932,751 offenders in 2001, an increase of 32.3 percent. Fifty-three percent of all probationers were convicted of a felony, 45 percent of a misdemeanor, and one percent of other infractions. Twenty-five percent were placed on probation for a drug violation, and 18 percent for driving while intoxicated.
Four states experienced an increase of ten percent or more in their probation populations in 2001, led by Maine (15 percent), Colorado, Kentucky, and Virginia (12 percent each). California’s adult probation population has remained relatively stable over the last ten years (about 300,000 offenders). In contrast, the adult probation population has decreased in 17 states, led by Nevada (14 percent decrease). Idaho has the highest rate of probationers per 100,000 residents (3,747), while New Hampshire has the lowest (9,385).
While there is no official tabulation of the number of probation officers who supervise juvenile offenders, the National Center for Juvenile Justice is sometimes able to provide information on the number of probation personnel involved in juvenile supervision. Most states do not consistently collect this information, and those that do, do not distinguish between supervising and administration personnel.
Probation departments across the country suffer from declining resources in the face of increasing service demands. They generally receive less than ten percent of state and local government funding for corrections. Contrasted to appropriations for prisons, probation funding has been on the decline for 30 years.
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Question 4 of 5 20.0 Points
Discuss the treatment alternatives for alcoholics and problem drinkers. Which of the treatment alternatives are the most effective?
Although Alcoholics Anonymous and other abstinence-based 12-step programs are the primary form of treatment for alcoholism in the United States, many people are unable to stick with them and return to dependence on alcohol. Today there are alternatives to 12-step programs. Some treatment programs teach problem drinkers to reduce their drinking, an approach that appeals to people who otherwise might not seek treatment. These programs are based on the belief that people can change their drinking behaviors. To be successful at moderation or abstinence requires effort and a commitment to change. Many people are looking for an alternative alcoholism treatment these days because traditional treatment is just not working very effectively and alcoholism continues to grow into a bigger problem in our society. There are several treatment approaches available today that call themselves alternative, such as, women for sobriety, narconon, centers who promote controlled drinking, cognitive/behavioral approaches and those who focus on the choice aspect. As with any illness, different people respond to different treatments in different ways. Alcoholism is no different. What works for one, may not work for another. However, many people are surprised to find that an alternative alcoholism treatment even exists, because it doesn't receive any coverage or promotion. Most people are unaware that they actually have options for alcoholism. Alternative simply means counter to what you find in the main stream or traditional treatment centers, which is usually a 12 step program and alcoholics anonymous.
The word alternative does not imply less effective, as a matter of a fact, alternative alcoholism treatment that incorporates a biochemical approach, is between 74 to 84 percent successful, compared to only .01 or .02 percent in traditional treatment. You are more likely to achieve long-term sobriety. A holistic and biochemical approach empowers the individual and you aren't forced to be dependent on meetings the rest of your life. You are not powerless over alcohol. Alcoholism is a multi-dimensional disease. Meaning it affects every aspect of an individual on a very deep and profound level. A holistic approach addresses each of these levels. A complete alcoholism treatment approach needs to address the physical, psychological and spiritual. AA and the 12 steps do not address the physical and their approach to the psychological and spiritual is shame based instead of empowering. The main difference in a biochemical approach to treatment is that alcoholism is treated truly as the physical disease that it is. Although most mainstream treatment calls alcoholism a physical illness or disease, they continue to treat it as a psychological or spiritual illness. That is why success rates for sobriety are so low. In the biochemical approach, emotional or psychological issues such as depression, anxiety, mood swings, irritability are seen as having the same root cause as alcoholism disrupted neurotransmitters. Making biochemical repairs is the most important missing piece of the puzzle in traditional treatment.
Question 5 of 5 20.0 Points
Describe the extent of the problems faced by correctional agencies with regard to sex offenders.
According to the United States Department of Justice, by the beginning of the 21st century, one in four residents of the USA were under the age of 18. Therefore, providing services for this significant segment of the population necessarily is a priority. Because such a large number of U.S. citizens are minors, the juvenile justice system in the country is facing demands on resources that have not been seen before in the history of the nation. Consequently, a number of particular problems associated with the juvenile justice system have been identified over the course of the past several years. major problem associated with the juvenile justice system is the lack of appropriate and suitable mental health services. This includes a lack of community-based services for juvenile offenders who are not in detention. With growing numbers of minors entering the juvenile justice system each and every month, stretched resources have created problems associated with the proper placement of offenders. Pursuant to the laws governing juvenile justice systems in all 50 states, when a juvenile is determined to be a juvenile offender as the result of an adjudication, the court is obliged to place that minor into the least restrictive environment possible. In other words, an adjudicated juvenile offender should not be placed into a "lock down" detention center unless there is no other appropriate placement for that child. Moreover, detention facilities in many instances also lack an appropriate level of suitable and sufficient mental health services for juvenile offenders.
Comment: Appreciate the hard work on this final. You forgot citations and references on this answer.
http://biology-forums.com/index.php?topic=50118.0
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