NCJ Number
77242
Date Published
1980
Length
138 pages
Annotation
This report, which focuses on the development of alternatives to prison, is the outcome of a 110-day study conducted by the National Council on Crime and Delinquency (NCCD) for the California legislature.
Abstract
The objectives of the study were to review existing programs which serve as alternatives to incarceration, such as victim restitution and community service options; to assess the suitablity of these alternatives; and to identify related costs of these alternatives and the benefits derived. To address these objectives, NCCD carried out five data gathering and analysis tasks. These tasks included a review of alternatives at the national and international levels; an analysis of crime, criminal justice, and prison population trends in California; a survey of existing postconviction alternatives in California; an analysis of relevant legislation; and a survey of attitudes towards alternatives to prison by local and State officials. Pursuant to these research tasks, NCCD surveyed 105 criminal justice practitioners and public officials, contacted 158 programs involved with alternatives to prison, and performed site visits to 14 highly regarded programs in California. To confront the immediate problem of a sharply increasing prison population, NCCD proposes three recommendations. First, the State should greatly expand the use of community-based placements for prisoners nearing their release dates. Also, community-based restitution and community work programs for selected, nonassaultive, low risk prisoners should be developed. Finally, a department of classifications and community corrections should be created within the youth and adult correctional agency plan. Long-term, structural recommendations include establishing a statutory ceiling on the number of available beds within California's Department of Corrections and organizing a commission to examine criminal justice options, such as shorter sentences for most offenses. Footnotes, tabular data, over 100 references, and a list of cases cited are provided. An appendix includes a list of persons interviewed for the study.