CHAPTER 9
Intermediate Sanctions and Community Corrections
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
After reading this chapter, students should be able to:
1. Explain the rationale for nonincarceration penalties.
3. Illustrate the continuum–of–sanctions concept.
5. List the various types of intermediate sanctions and who administers them.
7. Assess the role of the new correctional professional.
9. Assess the future of probation, intermediate sanctions, and community corrections.
LESSON PLAN
Correlated to PowerPoints
I. Intermediate Sanctions in Corrections
Learning Objective 1: Explain the rationale for nonincarceration penalties.
A. More than $80 billion spent on corrections each year. Over 90 percent of this goes to
pay for incarceration, although more than two-thirds of people under correctional
authority are under community supervision.
1. A year behind bars costs 25 to 50 times as much as a year on probation.
See Assignment 1
II. The Case for Intermediate Sanctions
Learning Objective 2: Explain the rationale for intermediate sanctions.
A. Reasons for correctional strategies between probation and imprisonment:
1. Imprisonment is too restrictive.
3. Justice is well served by having options in between.
B. Unnecessary Imprisonment
2. Probation is the most common sanction in the United States.
3. Prison as punishment is not very effective, yet it continues to dominate our
thinking on punishment.
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C. Limitations of Probation: There is good reason to believe that probation is ineffective
with individuals who have committed serious offenses.
1. Probation officer caseloads are too large for meaningful supervision.
a. Because probation officers handle 100+ clients at once, the average
2. Intermediate sanctions can improve traditional probation supervision in two
ways. a. It can intensify supervision.
b. It can provide specialized programs better suited to more-important
needs.
D. Improvements in Justice: Judges complain that their sentencing choices are limited.
1. The array of possible sanctions between these traditional probation or prison
2. Intermediate sanctions allow judges to tailor the punishment to the person’s
situation.
Class Discussion/Activity
Ask students to choose two states and review the intermediate sanctions offered within these
dates. After completing this, ask them to discuss it in class.
Media Tool
Visit http://www.ppic.org/publication/alternatives-to-incarceration-in-california/
o Alternatives to Incarceration
o In 2010, the state of California began looking at alternatives to incarceration as a way to
achieve its goal of reducing its prison population by 40,000 people. Why do you think
California is attempting to reduce its prison population? What are some of the ways that
the state has worked to do so? What additional steps might be taken? Consider the pros
and cons of various approaches as you discuss this topic.
III. Continuum of Sanctions
Learning Objective 3: Illustrate the continuum–of-sanctions concept.
A. This concept incorporates a range of correctional management strategies that vary in
intrusiveness and control (see Figure 9.2).
1. For example, under the Delaware model, individuals are graded on the
seriousness of the current offense and the perceived risk of a new offense.
C. Advantages of this concept:
2. Greater responsiveness in management of convicted individuals
3. Reduced costs
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4. May be codified into law or operated as a practice agreed to by various
agencies responsible for corrections
IV. Problems with Intermediate Sanctions
Learning Objective 4: Describe some of the problems associated with intermediate
sanctions.
A. Selecting Agencies
1. Determining who should operate intermediate sanctions—probation, parole,
institutional corrections, or new agencies (public and private)
B. Selecting People
1. Should it be based on the seriousness of the offense for the problems of the
client? In practice, both are considered; though intermediate sanctions programs
C. Widening the Net: Implementing intermediate sanctions has had consequences.
2. Stronger nets: Reforms augment the state’s capacity to control people by
intensifying the state’s intervention powers.
3. Different nets: Reforms create new jurisdictional authority or transfers it from
one agency or control system to another.
V. Varieties of Intermediate Sanctions
Learning Objective 5: List the various types of intermediate sanctions and who administers
them. A. Sanctions Administered Primarily by the Judiciary
2. Fines: Although more than a billion dollars in fines is collected annually in the
United States, its use of fines pales in comparison to other Western countries.
3. Forfeiture: This is a criminal sanction that had lain dormant since the American
4. Community Service and Restitution: These are reparative alternatives that rest
on the assumption that the convicted individual can atone for his or her offense.
a. With prisons overcrowded and judges searching for efficient sentencing
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in part.
c. The evidence is mixed as to the success of such programs, suggesting
that simply implementing a program is no guarantee of success.
B. Sanctions Administered by Probation Departments
1. Day Reporting (Treatment) Centers: Probationers in some jurisdictions realized
they could disregard probation rules with relative impunity. Probation centers are
2. Intensive Supervision Probation (ISP) targets individuals subject to
incarceration and should help alleviate crowding. Because it involves strict and
3. Home Confinement: Terms of incarceration are served in client’s own home.
As it is flexible, a variety of plans could be employed. It costs nothing to house
4. Electronic Monitoring
a. It is ordinarily combined with home confinement or as a condition of
probation.
b. The number of people being monitored is difficult to estimate because the
equipment manufacturers consider this privileged information.
Class Discussion/Activity
Have students research two states and the sanctions by which probation departments can
administer. After doing this, ask them to discuss this list of sanctions with the class and provide
opinions on them.
Chapter 9: Intermediate Sanctions and Community Corrections
Media Tool
Visit http://www.gpsmonitoring.com/
o GPS Monitoring
o Does monitoring parolees through GPS and other devices infringe upon their
constitutional rights? Why or why not? Discuss this form of surveillance as a class.
What If Scenario
What if you were a probation officer and given authority to select a sanction for an individual?
Your client is a two-time convicted drug user, is a parent of two children, and is believed to be a
drug user.
C. Sanctions Administered by Correctional Departments.
1. Shock Incarceration: The convicted person is sentenced to a term in jail or
2. Boot Camp: It is a variation on shock incarceration; clients serve a short-term
institutional sentence and are put through a physical regimen designed to develop
discipline and respect for authority. Proponents argue that many young
Class Discussion/Activity
Have students research the concept of shock incarceration and the effectiveness of this sanction.
Discuss whether this would be more effective than other sanctions set forth by probation
departments.
What If Scenario
What if you were convicted on a shoplifting charge and this was your second offense for the
same crime? You are given a choice of shock incarceration or boot camp. Which would you
choose and why?
See Assignments 3 and 5
VI. Making Intermediate Sanctions Work
Learning Objective 6: Explain what it takes to make intermediate sanctions work.
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A. Sentencing Issues: These center around sentencing philosophy and practice. Most
recently, greater emphasis has been placed on deserved punishment—similar offenses
deserve similar punishment.
1. ISP for one and a heavy fine for another might violate the equal punishment
rationale of just desserts.
2. For such sanctions to work, exchange rates consistent with the principle of
3. Different forms of intermediate sanctions must be calibrated to make them
4. Advocates of deserved punishment argue that it is not automatically evident
5. Some individuals seem to prefer prison over intermediate sanctions, but there
are troubling racial distinctions in preferences. Hence, this may exacerbate the
racial disparities evident in prisons.
B. Selection Issues: These have two general goals:
1. Target Group: To serve as a less costly alternative to prison and provide more
effective alternative to probation. Intermediate sanctions must be reserved for
2. Problems of Bias: Race, sex, and age bias are of particular concern.
a. The concern is that white, middle-class individuals will receive less
harsh treatment.
b. Alternative sanctions also tend to be designed for men, not women.
c. Solution is neither obvious nor uncontroversial.
VII. Using Surveillance and Control in Community Corrections
A. Most alternative sanctions have been created in a time when the focus was on “get
tough on crime.” Most, therefore, emphasize toughness. In order to “sell” alternatives to
incarceration, many intermediate sanctions use heightened surveillance and control.
B. Surveillance helps treatment providers assess if the treatment is working. Some
suggest that surveillance deters crime by making individuals less willing to commit crime
(since they’re being watched) and by catching individuals who are actively committing
crimes earlier sooner than later.
C. Community corrections use four general types of control strategies.
D. Drugs Controls
2. Depo-Provera—sometimes called “chemical castration”
3. Thorazine and Clorpromazine—used for certain psychiatric problems that lead
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4. Prozac, Zoloft, and Paxil—used for clients who suffer from depression
E. Electronic Controls
1. Electronic monitoring
F. Human Surveillance Controls
1. Personal contact with subjects allows correctional workers to process things
like body language, paralanguage, attitudes, odors, etc.
G. Programmatic Controls
2. Example: drug testing
Class Discussion/Activity
Place students in four groups. Assign each group to conduct research one type of surveillance
method/option that can be provided to individuals. List the pros and cons to each.
Media Tool
Visit http://vimeo.com/12127521
• Unlocking Justice Conference
• What, exactly, is the HOPE Probation program? What effect has it had? What do you
think the future of such programs is in Hawaii and in other states? Discuss in class.
What If Scenario
What if you had the authority to advocate for intermediate sanctions? Why would you advocate
for them and what would be the benefits?
See Assignment 2
VII. The New Correctional Professional
Learning Objective 7: Assess the role of the new correctional professional.
A. The advent of intermediate sanctions has changed the work world of the professional
in corrections.
B. There are three major shifts in the working environment of the correctional
professional.
1. Nongovernment organizations have emerged to administer community
corrections programs.
3. Professionals currently work within boundaries described as guidelines.
a. These specify policy options for different types of cases.
C. The relationship between the professional and the client has become less important
than the principles of criminal justice that underlie that relationship.
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a. The professional is now more accountable.
b. The professional is more oriented toward carrying out agency policy.
c. This has implications for the motivation and training of staff.
See Assignment 4
VIII. Community Corrections Legislation
Learning Objective 8: Explain how community corrections legislation works and evaluate its
effectiveness.
A. Reducing Reliance on Prison
1. Local justice systems have little incentive to keep their own community
members in local corrections.
3. Centralized, state-administered punishments seem to be more expensive than
local incarceration or probation.
B. Evaluation of Community Corrections Legislations:
1. The main thrust of community corrections legislation—to limit dependence on
prisons—comprises three aims:
2. Have those aims been achieved? It is complicated.
IX. The Future of Intermediate Sanctions and Community Corrections
Learning Objective 9: Assess the future of probation, intermediate sanctions, and
community corrections.
A. Reducing Reliance on Prison: Some way must be found to overcome the seemingly
immutable tendency of the criminal justice system to resist placing individuals in less
What If Scenario
What if you could see the future of corrections and how corrections handle convicted
individuals? What would the future look like in terms of treatment of these individuals?
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LECTURE NOTES
This chapter opens by making the case for intermediate sanctions. The authors construct their
argument by exploring the necessity of prison; they recount the limits of probation and introduce
system-wide shortcomings when it comes to realizing justice. When teaching about the system’s
deficiencies, it might be helpful to review the purpose of corrections. Have students reiterate
what they identify as the primary goals of corrections.
When defining intermediate sanctions, it is best to bring in the concept of continuum of
sanctions. It may help students to see this concept illustrated with a diagram. This chapter
The continuum approach offers a simple way to illustrate the concept of intermediate sanctions;
however, students should be careful not to underestimate complications associated with such
practices. Therefore, be sure and review the various problems highlighted in the chapter. These
focus on three areas: selecting agencies to administer the sanctions, selecting eligible individuals,
Help students recognize that each new set of ideas and corresponding practices brings forth new
directives, new challenges, and new procedures for correctional professionals. The world of
corrections keeps changing. Ask students how these amendments and adjustments affect the role
of the correctional professional.
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KEY TERMS
Continuum of sanctions
A graded range of correctional management strategies based on the degree of intrusiveness and
control over the individual, along which a client is moved based on his or her response to those
correctional programs.
Stakes
The potential losses to victims and to the system when someone recidivates; stakes include injury
from violent crimes and public pressure resulting from negative publicity.
Day fine
A criminal penalty based on the amount of income a person earns in a day’s work.
Forfeiture
Probation center
Residential facility where persistent probation violators are sent for short periods.
Restitution center
Facility where people on probation who fall behind in restitution are sent to make payments on
their debt.
Intensive supervision probation (ISP)
Probation granted under conditions of strict reporting to a probation officer who has a limited
caseload.
Chapter 9: Intermediate Sanctions and Community Corrections
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Boot camp
A physically rigorous, disciplined, and demanding regimen emphasizing conditioning, education,
and job training, designed for young convicted individuals.
ASSIGNMENTS
1. Divide students in two groups. One group is to devise a list of the benefits of using
2. Present students with lists of ten “first–time offenders” of offenses of varying severity,
from petty theft up to homicide. Ask them to rank them in terms of who is most likely to
3. Ask the class if anyone has served in the military and gone through boot camp. If so,
interview that person, asking questions relating to “breaking down and building up” and
what it was like to endure the strict discipline. Include questions about consequences
4. Have students write about the evolution of the role of the correctional professional
focusing on the three major trends or shifts in their working environment. They should
5. Ask students to select and choose two types of sanctions that could possibly be offered to
an individual. Ask students to research these two sanctions and discuss the pros and cons
Instructor’s Manual
ANSWERS TO END-OF-CHAPTER DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
Although the answers provided below will vary from student to student, the responses should
include at a minimum a discussion of the following key points.
1. How do intermediate sanctions work better—as a way of improving on probation or as a way
of avoiding the negatives of imprisonment? Why?
2. Should intermediate sanctions be run by traditional probation and prison systems or by new
agencies seeking to serve as alternatives to them?
3. What does the California probation subsidy program tell us about the interdependence of
various elements of corrections?
4. Why do states with similar crime rates sometimes have different incarceration rates?
5. Do you think that intermediate sanctions are acceptable to the general public in the current
political climate?