week 9 (test #2) Flashcards
What are 3 alternatives to incarceration?
- diversion
- probation - programs, monitoring
- parole (federal) - half-way houses
(risk is obviously involved with all of these)
What are some factors to consider / effects of using alternatives to incarceration?
- alternatives can decrease costs and stigma, while increasing collaboration with community stakeholders, employers, etc.
- may incorporate new technology for monitoring/reporting purposes
- alternatives provide less security (containment/separation)
What are the 3 opportunities/times for criminal cases to be diverted?
Pre-charge - police
Post-charge - courts
Post-sentencing - probation/parole
What is the goal of diversion?
To keep offenders from further processing into formal sanctions applied by the CJS
- keep them out of the flow of the system
What is does net widening mean?
The idea that diversion may increasingly become a requirement for low-risk offenders, who would otherwise just be released outright
- these programs need to be kept busy in order to justify the costs
- often target low risk offenders who wouldn’t actually be the ones needing it
What are some examples of the diversion options overseen by the Modernization Strategy and Manitoba Restorative Justice Branch? What are the goals included in these options?
on website it says 100+ diversion options (but websites take a long time to get updated so we dk if this is rly true)
examples:
- indigenous justice programs
- funded RJ programs - salvation army & mediation services
- community justice committees
- RJ Hubs - programming centres, virtual and physical
Goals > accountability, healing, communication of needs, reduce re-offending, and reintegration
What are the 3 different options for community supervision of accused
- Conditional Sentences
- <2yr sentence served in the community, based on a low risk to re-offend
- consider how many crimes this person is expected to commit (quantitative) and how serious the future harm would be (qualitative)
- optional conditions - tailored to offender - Probation (3yr max)
- community supervision and compulsory conditions imposed as an alternative to, or in addition to incarceration - supervised by Probation Officers
- conditions must be reasonable and if they breach orders they get another criminal charge - Parole (until warrant expiry)
- available to provincial and federal offenders who comply with compulsory conditions, supervised by the Parole Board/Officers
- breach of parole = suspension/revocation and the potential return to custody to serve remainder of sentence
- (usually parole time is double jail time)
How are probation and parole different?
Probation is a sentence imposed by a judge instead of or in addition to incarceration, while parole is a form of release from prison after a portion of a sentence has been served
Probation = imposed by judge
Parole = granted by parole board
With probation, breached conditions could mean another criminal charge, while with parole, accused is only responsible to the parole board who would decide whether to send them to jail to serve the rest of the sentence or back to the community
What are the different tasks and jobs of probation officers
Preparing PSRs and risk assessments for the court and correctional use (internal) - don’t want to be the case of delays so they have to go quick
Counselling and service coordination
- core programs like motivitional interviewing, counselling, respectful relationships, substance abuse, DV, etc.
- housing, employment, addiction support, etc.
Relationship building - developing trust, respect, and shared goals
Monitoring of offenders in the community and enforcement of conditions > curfews, program participation, general compliance with PO conditions
Explain why a probation officer’s job of monitoring and enforcing conditions of their clients can be so complicated
Laying a breach of probation orders charge can sever the officer-client relationships - and really whose fault is it that the offender breached? - can have blaming happen - and then you have to continue with your client and repair the relationship
If offenders juggle between POs all the time they’re less likely to be successful - more likely to reoffend *continuity of supervision increases success
What is the “RNR” principles that effective PO assessment tools support?
RISK principle : supervision ought to increase as offender risk increases
> if you’re too harsh on someone who is low risk then you can make matters worse (labelling issue)
NEED principle : services should pair with criminogenic needs (ex. Level of Service Case Management Inventory - LSCMI = commonly used assessment tool - very intensive)
RESPONSIVITY principle : programs should be matched to the learning style and motivations of the offender
Explain some of the dynamics of being a probation officer
- exposure to risk, stress, and case loads
- there is danger and risk associated with offender management, particularly with high-risk offenders in the community
> close contact with clients is associated with success, but this also increases risk - officer/client conflicts are unmediated and face to face > physical contact instead of on the phone increases success but more risky bc often don’t have weapons or appropriate backup
- weapons and training dilemmas > difficult job to fill and sustain long term
What are some unique dynamics that rural probation officers face?
Probation services and facilities are sparse in rural communiities and increasingly costly to maintain > drives intermittent supervision models and imported resources (ex. fly-ins)
- recruitment challenges and low accountability
- little external support or safety measures
ex. POs might be hired and driving around all week to different communities and staying in these communities to meet clients - alone and isolated and no cell service = Not very desirable jobs
Explain the significance of discretion in a probation officer’s role
Always have to make hard decisions when clients breach conditions
- usually very slow to breach them because of breaking trust
- But then again, have to think, if i don’t breach them and they kill someone that’s not a good look
What is meant by the pain of probation?
When intensive supervision and PO restrictions just add strain to an offender
- especially by over monitoring low risk clients - have to find the right amount of intervening and support
What are some of the challenges in the context of group programming with probation
- gang conflicts
- interpersonal conflicts
- conflicting progress in the group (ex. some have done these programs many times so will criticize each other for giving dumb answers)
- mixed gender dynamics (DV offenders interacting with a female group leader can be risky)
- No security support in lots of probation offices - might be a panic button but that’s kind of it
*some POs don’t want to do groups anymore, but doing things one on one takes a lot more time and resources
Explain what ISP (intensive supervision probation) is in Manitoba
In Manitoba, ISP is the Criminal Organization High Risk Offender Unit
- lower case loads, intensive supervision/programming, etc.
- POs are given more time and focus with individual offenders
- focus on employment support
- specialized personnel and services trained to work with specific types of offenders
ISP might encourage the diversion of risk into the community bc they include complex cases (substance abuse, mental illness, organized crime involvement, violent history, etc.)
What are intermediate sanctions? what are the two different objectives with this?
Intermediate sanctions blend probation and incarceration measures, including fines, community service, trade programs, CSOs, EM, half-way houses, etc.
*pretty rarely applied
- offender oriented objectives (assurance of punishment)
- system orientated objectives (reducing custody counts)
What are some of the risks and considerations of intermittent sentencing?
Deprivation/importation theory: inmate behaviour is shaped by both the characteristics inmates being into prison (importation) and the harsh conditions of prison life (deprivation)
Inmate pressure: intermittents represent an opportunity for full time offenders in corrections - try to use them to get things from the outside - will get caught and then people get pissed at them - often leads to assaults in custody
- intermittents often segregated in custody now
What is the risk with escorted and unescorted temporary absence programs?
(accused may be given temporary absences for a funeral or something like that)
- lots of risk with this that you have to assess - danger they won’t come back and they’ll reoffend
Explain the total institution concept (goffman)
When you go into custody you are deprived of your identity (through different things like given uniforms and such) - the more this happens the less you’re able to import things or characteristics into custody - so for intermittents for example, you would deprive very harshly so that they can’t import anything
The RNR model has shown success when properly and consistently applied, but what 3 things does it need/are cons?
- requires more training
- involves costly assessment
- requires technology that supports delivery > Rewriting codes and blending new softwares - technology has become a barrier in some ways
Explain some factors in the evaluation of community-based programs
- no programs will work 100% of the time
- intensified supervision requires contact, but this increases risk to POs
- community collaboration can support community supervision, but is dependent on funding and demonstration of positive outcomes
- program success improves as offender risk decreases = selection bias? > if you want to show your program will work you might have this selection bias - picking low risk offenders purposefully
