Community corrections programs and reentry centers in criminal justice

Criminal Justice

Explain community corrections and what purpose it fulfills in the overall field of criminal justice. Identify and describe programs and services that are usually found in community corrections. Discuss what you feel are strengths and weaknesses of community corrections programs.

Community corrections programs are rehabilitative programs that attempt to slowly reintegrate offenders designated for release into the community, though a series of graduated steps, such as halfway houses or allowing inmates to find employment within the community. The Federal Bureau of Prisons makes community corrections an integral component of the Bureau's correctional programs and often acts as a liaison for state and local groups with similar programs. "The Bureau contracts with residential re-entry centers (RRCs), also known as halfway houses, to provide assistance to inmates who are nearing release. RRCs provide a safe, structured, supervised environment, as well as employment counseling, job placement, financial management assistance, and other programs and services. RRCs help inmates gradually rebuild their ties to the community and facilitate supervising offenders' activities during this readjustment phase. An important component of the RRC program is transitional drug abuse treatment for inmates who have completed residential substance abuse treatment program while confined in a Bureau institution" ("Community corrections," 2008, Federal Bureau of Prisons).

Requirements for individuals in such programs are far stricter than released prisoners on parole. Inmates in a RRC are still in custody and are monitored on a 24-hour-a-day basis, just like formally incarcerated prisoners. These prisoners are required to be employed full time, to pay a fee for their housing and medical care, and to receive drug testing and counseling, if they have a record of substance abuse. Through such programs, inmates gain valuable work experience. This will make finding employment easier when they return to society as free individuals. They can receive the benefit of having the structure of budgeting, paying rent, and keeping a regular schedule, all of which they may not have had in prison as a full-time inmate. Their earnings and the fact they have to cover their own medical expenses can defray some of the costs of full-time incarceration.

For individuals requiring more supervision and counseling, Comprehensive Sanction Centers (CSCs) may be a better alternative. "While similar to RRCs, CSCs offer a more structured system for granting inmates gradual access to the community: for example, CSCs have five levels of supervision, ranging from 24-hour confinement," similar to a prison, "to home confinement...CSCs also require that inmates participate in more programs. They may include an intensive treatment component consisting of substance abuse education, life skills training, mental health counseling, education, employment assistance, and monitoring"("Community corrections,"2008, Federal Bureau of Prisons).

The advantage of CSCs is that they allow for individualized treatment and services for inmates, tailored to each prisoner's rehabilitative or psychological needs. Finally, "home confinement is a generic term used to cover all circumstances under which an inmate is required to remain at home during non-working hours of the day" except when working, and is monitored by an electronic bracelet ("Community corrections," 2008, Federal Bureau of Prisons). This is the least restrictive form of community corrections.

The advantages of these diverse community corrections programs are many. A prisoner is often exposed to a highly artificial environment in prison, socializing mainly with other prisoners. These programs reintegrate the individual into the relatively more normalized work environment slowly, decreasing the risk of recidivism. These programs also acknowledge the substantial impact substance abuse and psychological difficulties can play upon an individual's future, and provide support and counseling as well as place punitive restrictions on an inmates' behavior. The programs require the prisoner to take responsibility for paying rent, and remaining employed. The only possible critique that might be made is that by requiring prisoners to pay for the cost of their healthcare, prisoners may not be able to afford costly but helpful psychotropic medications and that this might unfairly penalize prisoners suffering from chronic physical and mental ailments, or simply prisoners not able to find jobs that provide extensive health coverage. Also, including more job training education components to such programs might help prisoners find more lucrative employment, which would decrease the financial allure of pursuing a life of crime.

Question

Explain the formal juvenile justice "process" that would ensue if a 15-year-old youth was caught and arrested for armed robbery of a fast food restaurant.

Armed robbery, unlike, for example, truancy, or running away from home, is not a status offense, or a crime that is only a crime because it is committed by a juvenile. All states allow juveniles to be tried as adults in criminal court under certain circumstances for certain types of non-status offenses. "In many states, the legislature statutorily excludes certain (usually serious) offenses from the jurisdiction of the juvenile court regardless of the age of the accused. In some states and at the federal level under certain circumstances, prosecutors have the discretion to either file criminal charges against the juvenile directly in adult criminal courts or proceed through the juvenile justice process. The juvenile court's intake department or the prosecutor may petition the juvenile court to waive jurisdiction to adult criminal court, or the juvenile court may order referral to criminal court for trial as adults. In some jurisdictions, juveniles processed as adults may, upon conviction, be sentenced to either an adult or a juvenile facility" (the Juvenile Justice System," Law Info, 2007)

In this instance, the prosecutor would review the case. The decided jurisdiction of case might be doubtful, given that the offender was an adolescent, not a child, but was not on the cusp of adulthood (i.e., he was not 17). The circumstances behind the robbery (was the boy goaded on to do it by an older friend, did he do it as part of a gang initiation, etc.) would all be taken into consideration when determining how to proceed and what venue was most appropriate. if, in this case, the juvenile court retained jurisdiction, the case would come before a court with more sentencing discretion than adult courts. "In addition to such options as probation, commitment to a residential facility, restitution, or fines, state laws grant juvenile courts the power to order removal of children from their homes to foster homes or treatment facilities. Juvenile courts also may order participation in special programs aimed at shoplifting prevention, drug counseling, or driver education." (the Juvenile Justice System," Law Info, 2007). The focus of the juvenile justice system is always rehabilitation, rather than retribution. However, given the seriousness of the offense, the defendant might be classified as a youthful offender and receive an extended sentences not usually granted to a juvenile ("The Juvenile Justice System," Law Info, 2007)

Question

Predictions are that terrorist will continue to commit heinous criminal acts against our citizens in the future. If this prediction comes true, what, if any, effects will this have on the corrections system. Will Criminal Justice Administrators need to rethink what "model" (more punitive or restorative model) of justice should be used if more and more terrorist are incarcerated in our prison system?

Why or why not?

If terrorism becomes the focus of the criminal justice and prison system, this means that more and more non-citizens are likely to be incarcerated in the future. The result of this is that the United States must develop a more clearly defined policy to handle suspected terrorists in a legal and ethical fashion, so as not to draw the anger of the international community, or of congress. A new set of specific guidelines must be developed as to definitions of combatants and non-combatants, as to what is cruel and unusual punishment even for non-citizens, and what are accepted interrogation techniques for U.S. officers and police to pursue when dealing with suspected terrorists. The government must provide specific guidance in these areas to soldiers and law enforcement officers.

The model for justice of convicted terrorists has always been punitive, given that terrorists by definition are viewed as individuals who can be rehabilitated and reintegrated into society. Also, terrorists often have ties to foreign organizations or are foreign nationals who perceive themselves as living outside of the law of national community of the U.S. But this does not mean that the entire system must become more punitive. In fact, law enforcement officials have warned that too punitive an attitude can actually encourage terrorist recruitment of Muslims behind bars. "Steps to effectively reintegrate former inmates into the larger society should also be identified, with an eye to diminishing the likelihood that former prisoners will be recruited by radical groups posing as social service providers, or act upon radical tendencies learned behind bars" (Cilluffo 2006: 9). Radicalization and alienation of inmates is common amongst individuals of almost every political stripe and ethnicity and continuing to actively pursue rehabilitative efforts is needed to ensure this does not occur with Muslim prisoners behind bars for minor offenses.

However, the greatest shift in policing will really occur through the greater integration of state and national agencies, given that terrorism is a cross-border problem that requires cooperation between federal and state agencies to share information, and monitor suspect groups. "A deliberate effort to identify and remedy key gaps in the state's prevention and response posture has given rise to a number of noteworthy initiatives including pilot programs intended to draw on the expertise developed over time by institutional gang investigators, and model terrorism and training awareness courses under development for correctional officers" (Cilluffo 2006: 6).