NCJ Number
155576
Date Published
1994
Length
21 pages
Annotation
This report presents the facts about crime and corrections in Oregon.
Abstract
The section on crime compares Oregon's crime rate with the rest of the Nation and provides statistics to show that putting more offenders in prison does not reduce the crime rate. Data and information on sentencing focus on what happens to offenders when they are convicted of a crime, what portion of a sentence offenders actually serve, the impact of sentencing guidelines, the role of the Parole Board, whether life terms for repeat offenders reduce the crime rate, and what Oregonians have done to "get tough" on crime. Another major section of this report provides statistics and information on incarceration. It considers who is in prison in the State and their offenses, the cost of supervising an offender, what it would cost to imprison all felons, what inmates do to help pay for the costs of their imprisonment, and the difference between "earned time" and "good time" and why they are given. A section on community corrections discusses whether offenders can be supervised effectively in the community, the number of offenders that succeed in the community after release, the handling of probation and parole violations, and the nature of recidivism and its rate in the State. The concluding section on punishment and rehabilitation addresses whether prison deters crime, why treatment and rehabilitation programs are needed, the nature of a boot camp, and whether offenders can be rehabilitated. Overall, this report supports a continuum of correctional programs that emphasize community corrections for most offenders and a broad battery of treatment and rehabilitation programs for all offenders. Fifteen figures include one that addresses trends in juvenile crime in Oregon.