327-M10 - Community Corrections

Question 1

What are the four reasons why community sanctions would be preffered?

Answer 1

• escalating costs of incarceration
• questionable deterrent value of incarceration
• recognizing the aid of community sanctions with rehabilitation and reintegration
• reallocation of resources to higher-risk offenders

Question 2

What are the two criticisms of community sanctions?

Answer 2

1. too soft on crime (not effective in addressing accountability)
2. too punitive (too many hoops to jumpt through to maintain the sentence)

Question 3

Explain how diversion programs can be used at serveral points in the CJS

Answer 3

Any party of the CJS at any point of the process can send people to diversion programs, including:
* police
* crown prosecutors
* judges

Question 4

What is the main purpose of diversion programs?

What is it designed to do?

Answer 4

Keep offenders from being processed further in the formal criminal justice system

Question 5

According to labelling theory, why are diversion programs more effective?

Answer 5

Good for first-time offenders, where diversion programs may not result in a criminal record

Question 6

T/F: Diversion programs focus more on principles of retributive justice.

Answer 6

FALSE. higher forcus on restorative justice, seeing harm as a cause and a consequence of crime.

Question 7

Net widening

Answer 7

where more people are brought into CJS because of their involvement in diversion progrmas

Question 8

What kinds of sentences can probation be part of/combined with?

Answer 8

• probation as a stand alone sentence
• part of an intermittent sentence
• condition of a suspended sentence
• intermittent sentence
• following a prison term

Question 9

What are the three standard conditions of probation?

Answer 9

1. Keep the peace and be of good behaviour
2. Appear before the court and when required by the court
3. Notify the court/probation officer of any change in name or address, promptly notify the court of any change in employment/occupation

Question 9

Why is probation so popular as a communitive corrections program?

Answer 9

for its flexibility and versatility, and can be tailored to the needs of the offender

Question 10

Possible additional/optional conditions for probation

Answer 10

• reporting conditions
• abstinence from alc and drugs
• non-association/no-contact condition
• counselling/treatment

Question 11

What are the two primary responsibilities of a probation officer?

Answer 11

1. assessment of client’s risks/needs (according to RNR)
2. providing individualized case management

Question 12

What are some examples of the considerable discretion probation officers use?

Answer 12

Discretion in reporting violations of conditions and pursuing a “breach of probation” charge

Question 13

What is the dual role of probation officers?

Answer 13

Support (building rapport and establishing trust) + Enfocement (ensuring the compliance of conditions)

Question 14

What are some sources of variation in caseloads?

Answer 14

location
rurality:
* rural = mixed caseloads
* urban = more specific types of offenders (e.g. sexual offenders)

Question 15

What are some factors that contribute to the greater emphasis on greater surveillance/control for probation cases?

Answer 15

• increasing caseloads make support less practical
• concerns with accountability and liability (sometimes frome external parties such as government)
• increasing number of special categories of offenders

Question 16

What is the main purpose of intermediate sanctions?

Answer 16

balancing traditional probation and incarceration

Question 17

What are the two sets of objectives that influence the decision for internmediate sanctions?

Answer 17

offender-oriented and system-oriented

Question 18

What are the three offender-oriented objectives of intermediate sanctions?

Answer 18

• assurance of real punishment
• retribution
• incapacitation and control

Question 19

What are the three system-oriented objectives of intermediate sanctions?

Answer 19

1. reduction of institutional populatiosn (bodies)
2. reducing corrections costs
3. reducing rates of recidicism

Question 20

Why should low-risk offenders not use electronic monitoring?

Answer 20

it is a high-risk approach and not he best level of intensity for approaching their behaviours

Question 21

CSC pilot study of electronic monitoring revealed the following issues:

Answer 21

• lack of location accuracy
• false alarms

Question 22

What are some problems of electronic monitoring?

Answer 22

• general impact on offenders’ families
• intensification effect
• only a part of the strategy for high-risk offenders
• does not prevent all crime
• imperfect technology

Question 23

Intensification effect

Answer 23

where a situation worsens because of monitoring and ongoing confinement

increasing tensions within the household, which can result in violence