Conditions of Community Corrections

Role of Conditions

Community-based correctional programs hold offenders accountable for their crimes while allowing them to remain within the community. The majority of offenders in the United States do not pose a threat to their communities or to themselves, and there are many benefits to keeping offenders in their own communities while they receive their punishment.

Offenders participating in community-based correctional programs are able to keep their employment and maintain family responsibilities. They will have more opportunity to participate in treatment, educational, or vocational programs that will strengthen their future as law-abiding citizens. Offenders remaining in the community will also be more likely to give back to the victims and the community they harmed through restitution and community services. Last, by remaining in the community for the course of their punishment, the offenders will also avoid exposure to the violent subculture and stigma associated with correctional institutions.

Community-based correctional programs typically serve one of three main purposes: as a diversion from prosecution, as a sentence alternative to incarceration, or as assistance for the transition from incarceration back to the community. There are also a variety of factors that determine which offenders are eligible for participation in a community-based correctional program, such as the seriousness of the offense, prior criminal history, potential risk to the community, and personal characteristics of the offender.

Then, once an offender has been determined eligible for a community-based correctional program, decisions will be made by the supervising agency about the types of conditions that should be placed on the offender during the course of the sanction. The conditions imposed on an offender will vary, depending on the type of program, circumstances of the case, and the offender's personal characteristics, but general guidelines can be followed when determining appropriate and inappropriate conditions.

The conditions placed on an offender while participating in a community-based correctional program vary. The offender may need to attend educational or vocational training, receive substance abuse treatment, or undergo psychiatric treatment.

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Over the last few decades, multiple agencies, associations, and commissions have created recommendations for what are appropriate considerations and conditions for an individual participating in a community-based correctional program. Typically, the focus of these recommendations has been on probation; however, these standards have been used by many practitioners when determining appropriate conditions for people participating in a variety of programs. When examining the recommendations set forth by the American Bar Association's Standards for Criminal Justice and the Model Penal [Page 80]Code, by the National Advisory Commission on Criminal Justice Standards and Goals, and by the American Probation and Parole Association, there tends to be general agreement on what constitutes appropriate and inappropriate conditions.

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