NCJ Number
84115
Journal
Federal Probation Volume: 46 Issue: 2 Dated: (June 1982) Pages: 3-8
Date Published
1982
Length
6 pages
Annotation
The separation of agencies responsible for the controlling supervision of offenders and services for them can provide an effective community alternative to prisons, which have become prohibitively costly, overcrowded, and increasingly violent.
Abstract
Many nonviolent offenders are imprisoned because society does not want to tolerate their deviant behavior in the community and the courts believe such behavior is likely if they are merely placed on probation. A structure for supervising such persons in the community could be improved by establishing a Bureau of Offender Supervision to be administered by the courts or the police. All offenders not imprisoned would be required to make regular reports in person to an officer of the court or to the police. The Bureau of Offender Supervision would receive such reports, investigate their veracity, and file reports to the court when there have been violations of the law or the terms of supervision. A separate organization would be responsible for providing the various services required to facilitate an offender's adjustment in the community. Private, social and health agencies or a public agency might fulfill this function.