Sentencing Alternatives Center in Guilford County, North Carolina - An Evaluation of Its Effects on Prison Sentences

• NCJ Number: 105180
• Author(s): W L Wallace; S H Clarke
• Date Published: 1987
• Length: 51 pages
• Corporate Author: University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Government
• Sale Source: National Institute of Justice/
• Publication Type: Program/Project Evaluation
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

A randomized experimental design was used to evaluate the effectiveness of the Guilford County Sentencing Alternatives Center (SAC) (North Carolina).

Abstract

The program's purpose is to encourage use of community sentences such as restitution, rehabilitative treatment, and community service. Subjects were 108 eligible, 1985-1986 felony defendants randomly assigned to an experimental (SAC) or control group. While a majority of these defendants were prison-bound, the evaluation revealed that SAC was successful in increasing diversion to community alternatives: 63 percent of the SAC defendants received either no active sentence or a sentence of 6 months or less, compared to 39 percent of the control group. Further, proportions of defendants receiving 12-, 24-, and 36-month prison sentences were lower in the SAC than in the control group. A comparison of low-risk and high-risk defendants failed to reveal any intergroup differences in sentence severity for low-risk defendants. However, high-risk SAC defendants received significantly fewer active sentences, significantly more sentences of 6 months or less, and significantly fewer sentences of 12 months or more. This latter finding suggests that the program is particularly effective for the high-risk defendants for whom it was primarily designed to serve. 2 figures, 8 tables, 24 notes, and 7 references.