NCJ Number
93408
Date Published
Unknown
Length
120 pages
Annotation
This report presents abstracts of draft chapters from the final report on studies of 'Strategies of Determinate Sentencing.' The studies took place in late 1978, 1979, and early 1980, soon after the adoption of greater determinacy in California and Oregon, the States on which studies focused.
Abstract
The studies report relatively early development in the sentencing systems of these two States. One development was very clear: in both States, the prisons were becoming 'overcrowded' and further crowding was imminent. There appears to be nothing inherent in determinate sentencing systems leading its operators, inevitably, to increase the number of prisoners or the lengths of their terms. Under indeterminate sentencing systems, prisoners were under pressure to participate in prison rehabilitative programs; most prisoners believed that such participation would look good to their parole boards. A broad range of rehabilitation programs developed in prisons under indeterminacy. After the passage of greater determinacy laws, this study inquired into the operations of the two States, interviewing prison staff and inmates. The preliminary enquiry suggests the following conclusions about rehabilitation programs in California and Oregon. First, educational programs are oversubscribed. Vocational programs are full, but the length of waiting lists suggest that interest has waned. Counseling staff continues to give every appearance of being overworked and overloaded. In Oregon, work release programs are closing. California, on the other hand, is expanding its community release programs. Limited criminal justice resources have resulted in countervailing pressures to lower presumptive sentences. The end note includes a listing of published articles based on these draft chapters.