NCJ Number
166568
Date Published
1996
Length
112 pages
Annotation
Based on nine public fact-finding hearings and two roundtable discussions in prisons, both sponsored by the Pennsylvania Justice Fellowship Task Force, this report presents seven reform recommendations that pertain to sentencing and corrections policies.
Abstract
One recommendation is to develop a master plan for providing correctional services and reorganize the correctional system. A second recommendation is to create a credible probation and parole system that is backed by effective intermediate sanction enhancements. A third proposal is to revise the parole decisionmaking processes to make offender release decisions more rational and the duration of parole terms more compatible with offender community reintegration requirements. The fourth recommendation is to revise the sentencing guidelines so that more lower-risk offenders are diverted from the jails to credible community-based punishments and more medium-risk offenders are diverted from the prisons to the county jails. A fifth proposal is to institute a mandatory restitution system that is backed by an effective debt-collection mechanism to hold offenders accountable for making their victims whole again and to restore public confidence in the equity of the adjudication and correctional processes. The sixth recommendation is to develop strong offender intervention programs with effective positive and negative incentives at every level in the new integrated correctional system. The final proposal is to expand the ministry of all communities of faith in Pennsylvania to all offenders, ex- offenders, and crime victims and their families and increase their involvement in the offender community reintegration process. The final chapter discusses impact and cost projections. Appended summaries of cost projections, revenue projections, and taxpayer savings; a descriptive table and flow chart of the new integrated correctional system; standard range recommendations for community-based punishments; and standard range recommendations for sentencing guidelines