parole and probation

Incarceration Alternatives

Intermediate Punishment

Intermediate punishment is a court sentence that may not involve imprisonment . However , it still comes with sanctions and conditions for the offender to follow . In some states , for instance in Pennsylvania Beard described a program called State Intermediate Punishment has been implemented as an alternative course to incarceration of convicted drug offenders . To qualify for this program , the offence must not be grave and does not include sex offenses or use of deadly weapon . Participants are given a uniform 24-month sentence , where four months will be served

br in a therapeutic community and six months in outpatient treatment . All of the people in this program have individualized treatment plans to follow . Each case will be assessed based on achieving need and attainment goals . Those who fail in SIP because of poor behavioral response will receive a new sentence from the Court based on traditional guidelines

Probation and Parole

In a traditional probation or parole practice , the offender will be allowed to return to their communities provided that that person would abide by certain conditions like having some form of employment following the law , avoiding contact with certain persons , and reporting to supervising officers . Before re-entry , the offender undergoes some training or treatment in to prevent them from being a danger to the people . The success of a probation or parole case is not guaranteed . Oftentimes , the offenders would commit the same deeds or do something else that is not lawful , resulting to their arrests

Kurtz Linnemann (2006 ) described an alternative to traditional probation or parole . In a strength-based technique , the program will focus on the person 's abilities rather than his shortcomings . Instead of the usual process of concentrating and probing about the problem and

how it can be solved , the offender 's strengths will be drawn out to help solve the problem . Often , the offenders find good aspects within that were previously unknown . Riley County Kansas uses this type of alternative . The program however , anticipates and tries to correct at-risk behaviors by providing immediate and intensive management programs . Juveniles of low or moderate further delinquency risks are provided with social and strength-based trainings to prevent them from becoming major problems . Another alternative program for the mentally ill felon is the Nathaniel Project , which provides treatment using the health care system rather than punishing the offender . The treatments are strictly monitored and are combined with substance treatment . The program became operational in late 1999 . In 2002 , the American Psychiatric Association published a report that heralds the success of the project . The report showed that the number of arrests pared down 101 in the year before the program began , to seven a year after the program was in place . On top of that , the cost for each individual in this treatment program is significantly lesser than putting the offender behind bars

The programs described above are just two of the alternatives that have been

implemented . Although short-term successes are documented , their long-term effects remain to be measured...