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Charges dismissed because of a diversion program will still lead to additional criminal history points under the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines if there was a finding of guilt by a court or the defendant pleaded guilty or otherwise admitted guilt in open court, provided that the deferred disposition was not a juvenile matter (Diversion Programs: An Overview, 1999).
Conclusion
Alternative to Incarceration Programs (ATIs) are part of the mix of factors that have allowed the City to reduce crime, reduce jail and prison populations, and help individuals and neighborhoods across the City. As an alternative to sentencing someone to jail or prison, ATIs permit a judge to sentence someone to a program where they obtain treatment, education and employment training in the community, all while enduring strict supervision. If people do not do well in these programs, the court still has the choice of sentencing them to incarceration. Studies by the nation's leading criminal justice researchers have shown that ATIs reduce jail time, and successfully treat people in the community without compromising public safety. All the while, ATIs are meeting the diverse needs of the people they serve, while building up the quality of life of the City's most challenged communities (Alternative to Incarceration Programs: Cut Crime, Cut Costs, Help People and Communities, n.d.).
There are many benefits to using ATI's, not only for the offenders but for the community as well. There are many available options that courts have to use in order to reduce overcrowding while effectively managing costs at the same time. In today's society both of these things are very important to most communities. Serious crime in on the rise and there is not enough available jail space to be had. Utilizing alternatives to incarceration for those who have been convicted on minor offenses is a great...
Even though there are several alternative options already available there is continuing research being done into other viable options that might be used in the future.
References
Alternative to Incarceration Programs: Cut Crime, Cut Costs, Help People and Communities. (n.d.). Retrieved May 15, 2010, from Web site:
http://www.cases.org/Papers/ATIs.htm
Electronic Monitoring of Offenders in the Community. (n.d.). Retrieved May 15, 2010, from Michigan Department of Corrections Web site:
http://www.michigan.gov/corrections/0,1607,7-119-1435-5032 -- ,00.html
http://www.accesskent.com/CourtsAndLawEnforcement/CourtServices/services_commu nity.htm
http://www.ncjrs.gov/html/ojjdp/9909-3/div.html
http://www.thestar.co.uk/news/39Flexible39-prison-terms-call-by.5627209.jp
http://www.mrsc.org/subjects/pubsafe/ps-jails.aspx
http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/1799206/guide_to_court_ordered_community_service.html?cat=17
http://www.doc.wa.gov/community/workrelease/overview.asp
Incarceration Alternatives Pros and Cons In some ways, there are nearly as many different pros and cons to incarceration alternatives as there are varieties of such pros and cons. As a social institution, incarceration has a definite function in helping to keep those who would harm other members of society from doing so. However, that same social institution can overlook or miss several other functions that are needed in society for
3. How well can community sanctions serve the purposes of criminal punishment? The degree to which community sanctions serve the purposes of criminal punishment depend largely on the underlying philosophy of criminal punishment in society. Specifically, to the extent criminal punishment is intended as retributive punishment, community sanctions do not serve the purpose of criminal punishment. Conversely, to the extent criminal punishment is intended to rehabilitate prisoners to facilitate a successful return
356). To date, there has been a great deal of reluctance to adopt a harm reduction approach in the United States for two fundamental reasons: The first reason stems from the argument that if harm were reduced for users the result would be an increase in the prevalence of drug use and, therefore, increased harm to society in terms of health care costs and violent crime. Those taking this position present
Corrections Gius, Mark. (1999). The Economics of the Criminal Behavior of Young Adults: Estimation of an Economic Model of Crime with a Correction for Aggregate Market and Public Policy Variables. The American Journal of Economics and Sociology. October 01. Retrieved November 07, 2005 from HighBeam Research Library Web site. Mark Gius uses a combination of individual-level and county-level data to estimate an economic model of crime for young adults. This data is similar
What is the best solution for jail overcrowding? The best solution might be using a combination of different efficiency measures. These same efficiency measures and alternative programs have been tested in jurisdictions throughout the country. Communities across the U.S. have sought to avoid the need for larger facilities without compromising community safety, and many have been successful in doing so with this system. Some examples of these efficiency measures include: Citation programs:
The period of time that happens right after an offender is released is such a crucial time in the determination of whether a person is going to re offend or not. If the New Jersey state sentencing laws continue to go down the path that they are on, there is never going to be any reductions seen in the recidivism rates and the goal of public safety is never going