Substitutes for Short Prison Terms in the United States of America - A Survey

• NCJ Number: 73321
• Journal: Revue de science criminelle et de droit penal compare Issue: 3 Dated: (July - September 1979) Pages: 533-537
• Author(s): W G Bridge
• Date Published: 1979
• Length: 5 pages
• Publication Format: Article
• Language: French
• Country: France
• Note: Compte rendu d'un expose fait au centre francais de droit compare a Paris, le 23 mars 1978 (Complete text of a report given at the French Center of Comparative Law in Paris on March 23, 1978)

Annotation

Prison overcrowding and the obvious failure of detention to prevent recidivism indicate an absolute necessity to find alternatives to institutionalization, especially for offenses involving short prison terms.

Abstract

Criminal court judges in the United States enjoy broad judicial discretion, which they are increasingly using to deinstitutionalize as many offenders as possible whenever the application of substitute penalties, especially for short sentences, does not jeopardize public safety. Among these substitute penalties the most frequently used are probation and suspended sentences: the latter do not require probationer supervision by a probation officer, but the judge can impose several conditions (e.g., abandoning pernicious habit and criminal associations; requirement to hold steady employment, to support the offender's family and to indemnify the victim, if any; and the posting of a sum of money as guarantee that the court-imposed conditions will be observed). Another alternative to imprisonment is payment of a fine, even in felony cases. Pecuniary penalties, however, raise many questions of fairness, because fines have ceilings fixed by law whereas there are wide discrepancies in the offenders' ability to pay. Community-based residential arrangements for deinstitutionalized offenders, such as halfway houses, are another substitute penalty widely applied in the United States, especially in large urban areas. The selection of candidates for deinstitutionalization again raises questions of fairness. Organized neighborhood opposition to offenders' residences is another problem. Criminal court judges in the United States also enjoy broad diversion powers: they can impose many other alternatives to imprisonment, such as victim restitution, community service orders, mandatory substance abuse treatment. Despite their widespread application in all 50 States of the Union, no scientifically reliable data on the effectiveness of any of these substitute penalties are available yet, and continued research is needed.