Community Corrections: Presentence Investigation Essay

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Updated: Jan 27th, 2024

Qualifications for a Community-Based Program

The use of community services as a means of retribution for petty crimes is rather popular since it focuses extensively on the opportunities for rehabilitating criminals as opposed to merely punishing them (Karp & Frank. 2016). However, not all misdemeanors qualify for a community-based program. According to the current U.S. regulations, there has to be a distinct connection between the crime committed by the offender and the service that they are given. E.g., a person accused of drug abuse could be sentenced to several months of organizing or leading meetings dedicated to discussing the issue of substance abuse and the available treatment methods.

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Types of Community-Based Programming Options

The number of community-based programs is rather vast. Traditionally, the subject matter is classified based on the crime committed by the person assigned with a community duty (Alarid, 2016). According to the existing classification, roughly ten types of community-based programs can be distinguished. As a rule, the programs are aimed at addressing criminal behavior patterns and suggest alternative ones.

Mentoring

The criminal will be provided with a mentor that will guide him through the issues that he is currently facing.

Family Reunification

The focus is kept on improving family relationships.

Outpatient Alcohol and Drug Services

Regular interventions will be provided to address the drug issue.

Cognitive Behavior Interventions

The program is aimed at shaping the criminal’s concept of positive behavior.

Mental Health

The program focuses on managing the issues associated with psychological issues developed by the criminal as a result of drug abuse (Official State of Pennsylvania Website, 2016).

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Types of Community-Based Sanctions

When considering the different varieties in which community-based sanctions come, one should bring up the fact that the introduction of IT innovations to the realm of legal justice has made it possible to introduce new types of punishment for criminals.

Electronic Home Detention

For instance, electronic detention, which implies that the person in question, is monitored electronically. The use of IT devices allows expanding the opportunities for legal authorities to control the criminal and their actions, monitoring them closely and, therefore, preventing any instances of misconduct.

Community Service and Work Crews

Working for the benefit of the community is another way of paying the debt to society and rehabilitating. Community service may include organizing an event related to the problems that senior people have and the significance of community support. Furthermore, it may require giving public speeches on the subject matter, collecting donations, etc.

Intensive Supervision

The conditions of the supervision are to be established by the court.

Work Release

Upon serving the time, the criminal may be released regularly to be able to work.

Day Reporting

Regular reports about the progress of the criminal are implied.

Jail

If any other method fails, imprisonment will be necessary (International Community Corrections Association, 2016).

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According to the details of the case, the defendant was accused of theft and drug possession. Therefore, it is recommended that the criminal should consider the Outpatient Alcohol and Drug Services and Family Reunification programs as the possible tools for managing his issues. Designed to address the needs of people with a substance abuse problem, the identified service will help the thief cope with his addiction and develop the strategy that will keep them clean of drugs for as long as they follow its strategies. Seeing that the theft was committed either under the influence of drugs or because of the abstinence syndrome, it will be reasonable to put a stronger emphasis on the rehabilitation of the criminal rather than on his punishment.

The significance of reuniting with the family must not be underrated, either. It is crucial that the man should have enough support in order to rehabilitate completely. Unless the members of a loving family assist him in his attempts at regaining the trust of the society, the defendant is unlikely to be motivated enough to refuse the behaviors that he has developed so far. The support of the family members, in its turn, is likely to serve as the foil for his reintegration in the society.

Community service can be viewed as another tool for rehabilitating the thief. Since drugs must have caused a rift in the relationships between the criminal and the members of his community, it will be crucial to make sure that the link between him and the community members should be restored. Otherwise, the probability of relapse is going to grow exponentially, preventing the man from redeeming himself in not only the eyes of the society but also in his own eyes. As a result, he will be unable to reintegrate back into society and, instead, will resume viewing crime as the only possible means of meeting his needs and retrieving the necessary resources. Furthermore, not only the possibility of rehabilitation but also the life of the man, not to mention the lives of his future victims, will be jeopardized. Hence, it is crucial that the community service should be balanced out with the program that will provide the man with the support that he needs to regain his position in society.

Defendant’s Case Management and Supervision Level

As stressed above, the probability of the accused to refuse the treatment and continue using his criminal skills as the essential weapon in satisfying his needs is very high. Therefore, it is crucial that the appropriate level of supervision should be established when managing the defendant’s case. In order to establish a proper level of supervision and create the environment in which the rehabilitation of the criminal is a possibility, one will have to consider the increase in the levels of supervision.

Seeing that a case in point features an attempt to attack another person, which could have resulted in the victim’s death, one must admit that the levels of supervision must be very tight. For these purposes, the use of electronic tools will have to be considered. Specifically, it will be required to establish an electronic control over the criminal so that his activities could be tracked to prevent him from purchasing drugs online.

One could argue that, by establishing the supervision levels so high, one may fail to create an environment that will empower the man to make a conscious change and develop enough motivation to abandon the path of crime and choose a different behavior model. Indeed, a closer look at the defendant’s history will show that he has enough family support to become a decent member of society. Working for the benefit of the community, the man is likely to recognize his problem and start striving to mend his ways.

References

Alarid, L. F. (2016). Community based corrections (11th ed.). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.

International Community Corrections Association. (2016). What are community corrections? Web.

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Karp, D. R., & Frank, O. (2016). Restorative justice and student development in higher education: Expanding ‘offender’ horizons beyond punishment and rehabilitation to community engagement and personal growth. In T. Gavrielides (ed.), Offenders no more: An interdisciplinary restorative justice dialogue (pp. 141-164). New York: Nova Science Publishers.

Official State of Pennsylvania Website. (2016). What is community corrections? Web.

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IvyPanda. 2024. "Community Corrections: Presentence Investigation." January 27, 2024. https://ivypanda.com/essays/community-corrections-presentence-investigation/.

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