NCJ Number
93485
Date Published
1984
Length
12 pages
Annotation
Intensive supervision probation is a possible solution to the problem of overcrowded prisons in Connecticut. Intensive supervision probation is an intermediate level sanction designed to be more stringent than regular probation and less restrictive than incarceration. Offenders live in the community under strict or punitive conditions.
Abstract
Probation caseloads have surged in the past 5 years. In 1980, 154 probation officers were responsible for 21,500 probationers, a ratio of almost 1 to 140. By 1984, 155 officers were handling 40,000 individuals, a ratio of almost 1 to 260. The declining effectiveness resulting from high caseloads and scarce resources has fostered the public's perception that it does not constitute punishment. As a result, the criminal justice system has come to rely increasingly upon incarceration as the only meaningful punitive mechanism available, thus causing significant prison overcrowding. As of November 1983, there were 5,200 inmates occupying space with a design capacity of 4,200. A sizable number of these inmates are in prison for nonviolent, relatively minor offenses. Most of them are serving sentences of 3 years or less and do not represent a high risk of danger to the community. These individuals constitute approximately 13 percent, of the total inmate population. The scarcity of correctional center resources has prompted the State to seek alternatives for offenders for whom punishment is not the most effective or cost-efficient punishment. One such alternative punishment that the Citizens Crime Commission of Connecticut believes should be implemented is intensive supervision probation. The Commission recommends that the State implement a statewide program of intensive supervision probation during fiscal year 1984-1985. The Commission also recommends that the legislature adopt a law to create a three-member panel of Superior Court judges to review sentences of inmates nominated for participation in intensive probation and to assign appropriate inmates to the program. Four notes are included.