NCJ Number
75689
Date Published
1980
Length
8 pages
Annotation
This report describes the Bronx, New York, Community Service Sentencing Project, for unskilled, unemployed minority offenders with prior criminal records.
Abstract
The project aimed to induce the regular use of a 70-day community service sentence, to give offenders an opportunity to do something positive, to introduce a workable form of restitution in an impoverished community, and to provide needy citizens with services. Project staff reviewed the files of incoming persons arrested for misdemeanors and felonies; and if a case met eligibility criteria, staff members sought agreement among the suspect, the defense attorney, the Assistant District Attorney, and the judge for the alternative sentence. From the end of February 1979 through September 1980, 260 offenders participated. All had been convicted as adults at least once before (average, 2.5 convictions); 95 percent were black or Hispanic. Among the services they performed under the supervision of the project staff were cleaning up badly neglected senior citizens' centers, youth centers, and neighborhood parks; repairing appliances and installing smoke alarms for the elderly; and helping staff recreational programs for retarded children. Almost 90 percent completed the community service sentence; and for these persons, project staff offered assistance in finding jobs, housing, and educational or other social services. Two-thirds accepted help in formulating and carrying out post-sentence plans; each was referred to at least one agency or employer. Footnotes are included.