Exercising Options: An Assessment of the Use of Alternative Sanctions for Drug Offenders

• NCJ Number: 212721
• Journal: Justice Quarterly Volume: 22 Issue: 4 Dated: December 2005 Pages: 488-520
• Author(s): Randy R. Gainey; Sara Steen; Rodney L. Engen
• Date Published: December 2005
• Length: 33 pages
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Report (Study/Research)
• Language: English
• Country: United Kingdom

Annotation

This study used quantitative and qualitative data from Washington State to examine how alternative sanctions were applied in cases that involved felony drug offenders.

Abstract

Using existing research on alternative sanctions and work on downward departures from sentencing guidelines, researchers developed and tested seven hypotheses regarding the application of sentencing alternatives to imprisonment. Quantitative data were provided by the Washington State Sentencing Guidelines Commission. The data analyzed pertained to felony drug offenders sentenced in fiscal years 1996-1999 who were legally eligible for a first-time offender waiver (FTOW), and work ethic camp (WEC), or drug offender sentencing alternative (DOSA). Qualitative data were obtained from field interviews with prosecutors, defense attorneys, and judges in three counties who had extensive experience with drug offenders. Quantitative analyses found that males, racial/ethnic minorities, and offenders who took their cases to trial were less likely than their counterparts to receive alternative sanctions. Hispanics were significantly less likely than either White or Black offenders to receive any of the alternative sanctions. Overall, judges who perceived drug sentencing guidelines to be overly harsh viewed FTOW, WEC, and DOSA as options for more proportionate sentencing. Some court personnel were concerned that courts could not operate efficiently without the option of alternative sanctions; i.e., harsh sentences without alternatives would be an incentive to take drug cases to trial, overwhelming the courts. Also, some court officials believed that alternative sentences with treatment features were more effective responses to drug crime than incarceration. Although some interviewees argued that the alternative sentences for drug offenders were unfairly lenient, most identified program design or implementation weaknesses that undermined their effectiveness. Also, some offenders have an aversion to compliance with treatment and supervision requirements, whose violation may result in a lengthy prison sentence. 3 tables and 50 references