Why Community Corrections?
Crime rates and the cost of prison and jail construction and prisoner incarceration have increased dramatically over the years, thus placing a great burden on taxpayers. State and local officials continuously grapple with these matters. Further compounding problems and frustrating criminal justice professionals is the tendency for most offenders to re-offend upon release from prison or jail. This tendency to re-offend is called “recidivism.”

In order to stave off recidivism, criminal justice professionals continuously work to perfect or create corrective rehabilitation programs to administer to offenders during and following incarceration, or in some cases, in lieu of incarceration. It has long been held in criminal justice field that prisons and jails should be reserved primarily for housing and rehabilitating more violent security risk offenders and incorrigible habitual offenders.

Community Corrections programs evolved from the growing need to create and administer alternative sentencing programs to non-violent misdemeanants and felons. The objectives of Community Corrections are to lower State prison commitment rates by diverting non-violent offenders from State prison system and to improve utilization of our county jails. Alternative sentencing sanctions are imposed on non-violent offenders to achieve these objectives.

Show All Answers

1. What is Community Corrections?
2. Who normally qualifies for P.A. 511?
3. Why Community Corrections?
4. What does alternative sentencing do?
5. What is the 34th Circuit Community Corrections Advisory Board?
6. What is the purpose of the Community Corrections Advisory Board?
7. What violent offenses are ineligible for this program?