NCJ Number
77344
Date Published
1980
Length
64 pages
Annotation
This manual describes the organization and procedures used by the community service restitution program (CSRP) of Elkhart County, Ind., PACT (Prisoner and Community Together), a community-based corrections organization devoted to developing a humane and rational corrections system.
Abstract
Under the CSRP, performance of free community service work as symbolic restitution is offered as an option to jail. The presiding judge, at his/her discretion, presents the option of participation in the CSRP to the offender at sentencing. The offender chooses between jail and the community service program. For every day that would have been spent in jail, a client is required to do 6 hours of work. In special cases, the CSRP may be offered as a last chance for probation violators. The program is primarily designed to serve young misdemeanor offenders between the ages of 16 and 25. Examples of the kinds of convictions appropriate for the program include driving under the influence of alcohol, driving with a suspended license, under age possession of alcohol, resisting arrest, disorderly conduct, public intoxication, fleeing a police officer, contributing to the delinquency of a minor, marijuana possession, malicious trespassing, and theft. Most of these crimes, while not causing bodily harm or property damage, violate community laws and, therefore, justify symbolic restitution to the community. A detailed flow chart provides a visual description of client progress through the program. Appended are forms used in the program, an organizational chart of Elkhart County PACT, CSRP job descriptions, liability concerns, referrals to CSRP from the Victim-Offender Reconciliation Program (VORP), sample referral form from VORP, methods for recording statistics, and a criminal justice procedures flow chart.