Unit 2 Individual Project 1

Unit 2 Individual Project

Arik Miller

Community Corrections

January 19, 2017

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Community Corrections revolves around the rehabilitation of a criminal or an offender of

the law. Community Corrections involves the supervision and rehabilitation of a criminal in the

form of punishment for committing a crime (s). The general purpose of this is to ultimately

reduce the number of overall offenders in the prison industrial system as well as give offenders a

second chance at freedom through counseling, work programs etc.

Work release is a program that is privileged to prisoners who can be trusted to leave

incarceration to work in a place of employment during their prison sentence. The work release

program is usually granted to inmates who are approaching their release date to reintegrate them

back into society. Jobs obtained in the work release program are provided through the

correctional system and if the employer chooses to do so, they may retain the inmate after their

prison release. Per the United States Department of Corrections, it is the inmates responsibility

to retain employment during and after participating in the work release program and to

reintegrate with family member as well as society (DOC, 2014).

Unfortunately, not all inmates in the prison industrial system will be eligible to participate

in the work release program. The obvious requirements are an inmate must exhibit good behavior

to participate in the work release program. Also, the inmate most have served a large portion of

their prison sentence. Another requirement for the work release program is for the inmate to

participate in counseling while being on work release. Obviously, if an inmate fails to fulfill the

requirements of the work release program, they are simply returned to prison with a less chance

of being returned into the work release program.

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The primary goal of the work release program is to promote individuals reintegration into

society and to improve the safety of society overall. Also, if a victim is involved in the crime the

offender committed, the offender must pay restitution to the victim(s) of the crime they have

committed, because the crime has created life changing hardships for the victim and their

families. So, entering offenders into the work release program is very essential and important.

Another form of Community Corrections is drug court. Drug court is one of the better and

more effective strategies to help drug addicted criminals minimize their drug use and ultimately

save their lives and others. Just like the work release program of the prison industrial system or

U.S. Department of Corrections, drug court has requirements that must be met for a drug addict

to be tried in drug court. The primary criteria of drug court are of course the offender being a

drug abuser or a person that has a drug addiction. Other exceptions are non-violent drug

offenders, first time offenders etc. Eligibility varies state to state as each state has their own set

of guidelines for drug court. How drug courts work is that the general courts will review cases

where drug related offenses are applicable and a determination is made as in to whether certain

cases are eligible to be tried in drug court. The most common requirement of the offender once

tried in drug court is to attend a drug rehabilitation program for six months or more with a one

year probational period, but of course this varies case by case. Of course, if the offender fails to

meet the obligation of the court, they will be returned to prison to serve out the remained of their

sentence.

A drug addiction in general is a very difficult thing to overcome and is a strenuous process to

overcome. The drug court program aims to show offenders that the system cars about them and

that the system is willing to provide the necessary tools to help the offender rehabilitate

themselves, no questions asked. In this situation, society wins as well as the public safety will
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undoubtedly improve as well. In situations where the drug offenses involve a victim, the offender

may be required by the courts to pay the victim of the crime restitution to help them recover from

the illegal act. In some jurisdictions around the United States of America, it is common practice

to give the victim the right to decide whether the offender of the crime in question to be tried in

drug court as a part of a restoration program.

One of the more favorable community corrections is house arrest. House arrest is a form of

community corrections where an individual is incarcerated in the comfort of their home rather

than a jail cell. The courts will in fact require the individual to wear an ankle bracelet to monitor

their movements place to place, but they most stay within a set perimeter of their home. The only

exception to this is if the offender is employed, has to meet with probation officer or attend

rehabilitation programs. The punishment for violating the terms and conditions of house arrest is

confinement in jail. At this point the offender will serve out the rest of their sentence in jail

instead of home.

Another community correction is probation. Probation is where an offender is allowed to

actively stay within the community under direct or indirect supervision of a probation officer. An

individual can be put on probation after they have completed a jail sentence or instead of serving

time in prison, the general courts may just put the offender on probation for a significant amount

of time. The probation clause or sanction usually involves an individual to pay fines, pay

restitution if a victim is involved, restriction on alcohol/drug use and non-possession of firearms.

As long as the offender follows the rules and provisions of the court, they should be fine, but if

not, they will be put in a position where they will serve the rest of their jail sentence in prison

without the possibility of losing the ability to obtain probation once more and more criminal

fines.
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In conclusion, community corrections are a great alternative to give offenders a second

chance at freedom. Community corrections may not work for all offenders, but it greatly impacts

the offenders that want to better their lives for themselves, their families and society.
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RESOURCES

NKA. (2014). Prison Life-Work Release. Department of Corrections. Retrieved from:

http://www.doc.wa.gov/family/offenderlife/workrelease.asp

NKA. (NKD). What Are Drug Courts? National Association of Drug Court Professionals.

Retrieved from: http://www.nadcp.org/learn/what-are-drug-courts

Portman, J. (NKD). House Arrest & How to Request It. Criminal Defense Lawyer. Retrieved

from: http://www.criminaldefenselawyer.com/resources/criminal-defense/crime-penalties/what-

is-house-arrest-how-to-request-it

NKA. (NKD). What Is Probation. Criminal Justice Degree Hub. Retrieved from:

http://www.criminaljusticedegreehub.com/what-is-probation/