Chapter 10 and 11 – Flashcards

The use of a variety of officially ordered program-based sanctions that permit convicted offenders to remain in the community under conditional supervision as an alternative to active prison sentences. (p.300)

A sentence of imprisonment that is suspended and places the offender under the supervision of the court. Also, the conditional freedom granted by a judicial officer to a convicted offender, as long as the person meets certain conditions of behavior. (p.300)

• Probation is the most common form of criminal sentencing in the United States. • As of January 1, 2012, 57% of all offenders under correctional supervision in the U.S. were on probation. • Even violent offenders have a one in five chance of receiving a probationary term. • Persons supervised yearly on parole has increased greatly since 1980.

• Offenders sentenced to probation must agree to abide by court-mandated conditions of probation. • General conditions apply to all probationers in a given jurisdiction; special conditions may be mandated by a judge for a particular offender.

A court order taking away a convicted offender's probationary status and usually withdrawing the conditional freedom associated with that status in response to a violation of the conditions of probation. (p.302)

• Federal probation was authorized by the National Probation Act of 1925. • Federal probation and pretrial services officers have authority to arrest or detain individuals suspected or convicted of federal offenses and to arrest probationers for violation of probation conditions.

The status of a convicted offender who has been conditionally released from prison by a paroling authority before the expiration of his or her sentence, is placed under the supervision of a parole agency, and is required to observe the conditions of parole. (p.305)

The managed return to the community of individuals released from prison. Also called reentry. (p.305)

A state paroling authority. Most states have parole boards that decide when an incarcerated offender is ready for conditional release. Some boards also function as revocation hearing panels. (p.305)

The release of an inmate from prison to supervision that is decided by a parole board or other authority. (p.305)

An early release option under which an inmate who is deemed "low risk" due to a serious physical or mental health condition is released from prison earlier than he or she might have been under normal circumstances. (p. 305)

• There is a growing reluctance to use parole today and discretionary parole releases are far less common than they used to be. • About 52% of parolees successfully complete parole, 23% are returned to prison for parole violations, another 9% go back to prison for new offenses committed during their parole period; the remainder may be transferred to new jurisdictions, abscond and not be caught, or die.

The release of an inmate from prison that is determined by statute or sentencing guidelines and is not decided by a parole board or other authority. (p.305)

An act or a failure to act by a parolee (or probationer) that does not conform to the conditions of his or her parole (or probation). (p.305)

The general and special limits imposed on an offender who is released on parole (or probation). General conditions tend to be fixed by state statute, whereas special conditions are mandated by the sentencing authority (court or board) and take into consideration the background of the offender and the circumstances of the offense. (p.305)

The administrative action of a paroling authority removing a person from parole status in response to a violation of lawfully required conditions of parole, including the prohibition against commission of a new offense, and usually resulting in a return to prison. (p.305)

A court requirement that an alleged or convicted offender pay money or provide services to the victim of the crime or provide services to the community. (p.306)

• Federal parole decisions are made by the U.S. Parole Commission. • Federal parole has been abolished for offenses committed after November 1, 1978 and it is slowly being phased out.

• The cost is lower. • There is increased employment. • Restitution is made possible. • There is community support. • There is a reduced risk of criminal socialization. • There is an increased use of community services. • There is an increased opportunity for rehabilitation.

• There is a relative lack of punishment. • There is an increased risk to the community. • There are increased social costs.

• The most frequent violations for which revocation occurs are (1) failure to report as required to a parole or probation officer; (2) failure to participate in a stipulated treatment program, and (3) alcohol or drug abuse while under supervision.

A hearing held before a legally constituted hearing body (such as a parole board) to determine whether a parolee or probationer has violated the conditions and requirements of his or her parole or probation. (p.308)

The release of an inmate from prison to community supervision with a set of conditions for remaining on parole. If a condition is violated, the individual can be returned to prison or face another sanction in the community. (p.308)

• The four functions of probation/parole work include the following: • Presentence investigations • Intake procedures • Needs assessment and diagnosis • Supervision of clients

• A major challenge is the need to balance conflicting duties (social work versus corrections). • Caseloads are extremely high. • There is a lack of opportunity for career mobility. • Stress is a major concern; the main sources of stress are high caseloads, extensive paperwork, and pressures associated with deadlines.

The number of probation or parole clients assigned to one probation or parole officer for supervision. (p.312)

The use of split sentencing, shock probation or parole, shock incarceration, mixed sentencing, community service, intensive probation supervision, or home confinement in lieu of other, more traditional, sanctions, such as imprisonment and fines. (p.312) Split Sentence: A sentence explicitly requiring the convicted offender to serve a period of confinement in a local, state, or federal facility, followed by a period of probation. (p.313)

The practice of sentencing offenders to prison, allowing them to apply for probationary release, and enacting such release in surprise fashion. Offenders who receive shock probation may not be aware of the fact that they will be released on probation and may expect to spend a much longer time behind bars. (p.313)

Shock Incarceration: A sentencing option that makes use of "boot camp"-type prisons to impress on convicted offenders the realities of prison life. (p.314)

The repetition of criminal behavior. In statistical practice, a recidivism rate may be any of a number of possible counts or instances of arrest, conviction, correctional commitment, or correctional status change related to repetitions of these events within a given period of time. (p.314)

A sentence that requires that a convicted offender serve weekends (or other specified periods of time) in a confinement facility (usually a jail) while undergoing probationary supervision in the community. (p.315)

A sentencing alternative that requires offenders to spend at least part of their time working for a community agency. (p.315)

A form of probation supervision involving frequent face-to-face contact between the probationer and the probation officer. (p.315)

House arrest. Individuals ordered confined to their homes are sometimes monitored electronically to ensure they do not leave during the hours of confinement. Absence from the home during working hours is often permitted. (p.316)

A supervision strategy that uses electronic technology to track offenders who are sentenced to house arrest or those who have been ordered to limit their movements while completing a sentence involving probation or parole. (p.316)

• Parole has been widely criticized for unfairly reducing sentences and failing to reduce recidivism. • Prisoners claim parole is sometimes arbitrarily granted and creates an undue amount of uncertainty and frustration in the lives of inmates.

• A 2005 report by the Reentry Policy Council called for a re-inventing of reentry, requiring a multi-system, collaborative approach taking into account all aspects of the problem. • Reentry courts are an innovative approach to managing former prisoners who are returning to their communities.

• There are about 1,325 state prisons and 84 federal prisons in the U.S. today. • The prison population has more than quadrupled since 1980 but the growth rate is slowing. • The current incarceration rate for inmates sentenced to over one year is 500 for every 100,000 U.S. residents • Most people sentenced to state prison were convicted of violent crimes; drug-law violations was the single largest group of federal inmates • There are disparities by race and by gender. • The use of imprisonment varies considerably between states.

A state or federal confinement facility that has custodial authority over adults sentenced to confinement. (p.326)

• "Get tough" initiatives include the use of chain gangs, greater punishments, and three-strikes legislation.

A contemporary model of imprisonment based upon the principle of just deserts. (p.331)

1. The Dimensions of Overcrowding (p.332) • The just deserts philosophy led to substantial and continued increases in prison populations, resulting in problems of prison overcrowding.

The size of the correctional population an institution can effectively hold. There are three types of prison capacity: rated, operational, and design. (p.333)

The number of inmates a prison can handle according to the judgment of experts. (p.333)

The number of inmates a prison can effectively accommodate based upon management considerations. (p.333)

The number of inmates a prison was intended to hold when it was built or modified. (p.333)

A Strategy to Reduce Prison Populations (p.333) • Collective incapacitation, a strategy that would imprison all serious offenders, is prohibitively expensive and many experts consider it unnecessary • Selective incapacitation seeks to identify the most dangerous and then remove them from society.

• Maximum-custody prisons tend to be older buildings with large inmate populations, although some are much newer. These facilities have high levels of security, place barriers between the living area and the outer perimeter, and use technological innovations to reinforce traditional security strategies. • Death row inmates are all in maximum-security prisons. • Medium-security prisons are smaller than maximum-security and are more likely to have barbed-wire fences than thick walls. • Minimum-security prisons are like dormitories, and inmates are free to walk the yard. • The typical American prison is medium or minimum custody.

• Classification systems are used to assign new prisoners to initial custody. • Inmates move through custody levels based on their progress in self-control and demonstrated responsibility. • Inmates may be reassessed for living and work assignments within an institution. • Classification criteria must be relevant to the institution's legitimate security needs.

A system used by prison administrators to assign inmates to custody levels based on offense history, assessed dangerousness, perceived risk of escape, and other factors. (p.335)

• The federal system classifies prisons according to five custody levels. • Administrative security (ADMAX) • High security (U.S. penitentiaries) • Medium security (Federal correctional institutions) • Low security (Federal correctional institutions) • Minimum security (Federal prison camps)

An acronym for administrative maximum. The term is used by the federal government to denote ultra-high-security prisons. (p.336)

• The ACA Commission on Accreditation has developed a set of standards - institutions meeting those standards can apply for accreditation under the program. • The National Academy of Corrections provides training for state and local corrections personnel, sheriffs, and state legislators.

• Jails are locally-operated, short-term confinement facilities that serve a variety of purposes, including holding suspects following arrest and pending trial. • A 2012 report found that jails in the U.S. held 735,601 inmates (12.7% of which were women). About 62% are pretrial detainees or defendants involved in the trial process. • Jails also supervised 65,884 persons in the community. • A total of 3,283 jails are in operation today. • State and local governments spend $10 billion annually to operate the nation's jails. • The majority of people processed through jails are members of minority groups; the typical jail inmate is an unmarried African American male between 25-34 years of age with some high school education.

A confinement facility administered by an agency of local government, typically a law enforcement agency, intended for adults but sometimes also containing juveniles. Jails hold people who are being detained pending adjudication or who were committed after adjudication, usually those sentenced for a year or less. (p.339)

• Females comprise only 12.7% of the jail population but are the largest growth group in jails nationwide. • Pregnancy, drug abuse, and low educational levels are significant sources of difficulty for jailed women and substantive medical programs for female inmates are often lacking. • About 22% of correctional officers are women; female personnel are disproportionately skewed towards jobs in the lower ranks.

• Jails have been called the "shame of the criminal justice system" as many are old, poorly funded, poorly staffed, and given low priority in local budgets. • Jail populations remain high but some jurisdictions have begun to divert arrestees to community-based programs to contain the growth of jail populations.

• Direct supervision emerged as a new jail strategy in the 1970s in an effort to solve many jail problems. • Direct supervision attempts to reduce inmate dissatisfaction, deter rape and violence, reduce the likelihood of inmate victimization, increase staff morale, reduce inmate stress levels, and reduce lawsuits and adverse court-ordered judgments. -A temporary confinement facility that eliminates many of the traditional barriers between inmates and corrections staff. Physical barriers in direct-supervision jails are far less common than in traditional jails, allowing staff members the opportunity for greater interaction with, and control over, residents. (p.342)

• Jails are adding crucial programs for inmates, such as drug treatment programs. • Jail industries are growing in number. • Jail "boot camps" increase the rigor of life behind bars. • State jail standards, meant to ensure a minimum level of comfort and safety in local jails are now mandatory in 25 of the 32 states that have set such standards.

A jail that is built and run using the combined resources of a variety of local jurisdictions. (p.354)

• At the start of 2012, private prisons held 6.8% of all state prisoners and 16% of federal prisoners. • Old state laws prohibiting private involvement in correctional management are one of the most significant barriers to privatization. • Opponents of privatization cite many issues.

The movement toward the wider use of private prisons. (p.344)

A correctional institution operated by a private firm on behalf of a local or state government. (p.345)