NCJ Number
143139
Date Published
January 1993
Length
27 pages
Annotation
Interviews conducted in 1990 with more than 150 prosecutors, trial judges, probation officers, and other corrections officials from 20 States were used to examine the readiness of State and local criminal justice systems to systematize and expand the use of judicially imposed intermediate sanctions.
Abstract
Results revealed widespread support for the expansion of these sanctions; this expansion is still being driven by the continuing problem of prison overcrowding and the possibility of possible cost savings from a reduced reliance on incarceration. Many criminal justice practitioners, including prosecutors, also emphasize the potential of intermediate sanctions for involving drug-addicted offenders in rehabilitation programs. In addition, few of those interviewed cited the rationale of proportional sentencing and just deserts. The study participants also identified many barriers to the use of intermediate sanctions. These include perceptions of unyielding public resistance, opposition from probation officers, and substantial financial costs. Moreover, most criminal justice officials have given little thought to how to make intermediate sanctions an integral part of corrections. Nearly all rejected the possibility of establishing mandatory sentencing guidelines for such sanctions, preferring voluntary guidelines. Notes and 42 references
Date Published: January 1, 1993