Law: Traditional Intermediate Sanctions vs Acceptable Alternatives - Essay Example

Public order crimes include drunken driving, escape, and obstruction of justice, liquor law violations and weapons-related offenses. Persons who are released from parole and return to prison as a result of another crime account for much of the newly admitted prison numbers. Although the federal and state governments operate prisons, so do private companies for the federal and state governments. Federal prisons housing convicted federal offenders make up about 11 percent of all federal offenders.

The other 89 percent, which equate to around 1 million people, are housed in state facilities. Federal prisons are normally larger and the custody level is from minimum security to super maximum security. Intermediate sanction programs can include a specific range of punishment options between probation and imprisonment. These programs are also known as intermediate penalties and punishments. The intermediate sanctions programs normally includes 1. An intensive supervision program that provide constant monitoring of an offender by a probation or parole officer.

This type of supervision is used on high-risk offenders. These offenders are required to follow strict rules, and violations can result in fines and other sanction. 2. Boot Camps are typically used on young offenders and require a very structured and military-like atmosphere that focuses on discipline, physical labor and education. 3. Day reporting centers require offenders to report to a specified location in a routine manner where structured activities such as counseling and job training are provided. 4. Home confinement or sometimes-called house arrest requires offenders to follow strict rules of curfew in their own homes.

Sometimes they are permitted to leave for such things as employment or religious services. 5. Electronic monitoring is a means to monitor an offender’ location and is used in conjunction with home confinement and other sanctions (ISP). 6. Fines are financial penalties requiring payment to the court, and are usually based on the severity of the crime. Fines can also be based on the offender’s income. 7. Restitution is compensation that a victim receives for financial, physical, or emotional loss suffered by a crime.

The compensation is made to the victim through the court by the offender. 8. Community service is free, donated or required labor on the part of the offender for punishment. The offender performs community service at designated organizations such as charitable or not-for-profit agencies such as domestic violence shelters or government offices. 9. Halfway Houses or Community Correctional Centers are minimum-security residential facilities that give offenders housing, treatment services and access to employment and education.

Considering alternatives, advocates that support alternative sentencing argue that with the current jail and prison overcrowding, it is not viable to incarcerate all criminals. Alternative means of corrections provide a cheaper way of dealing with the overcrowding than expanding brick and mortar prisons. As indicated earlier, over 50 percent of offenders within the current jail and prison system are property, drug and public order offenders that do not require maximum-security confinement. Therefore, alternative punishments for non-violent crimes are much more cost effective and do not put the general public in danger.

In a recent State of Connecticut