NCJ Number
172870
Date Published
1998
Length
15 pages
Annotation
Connecticut has established alternative sanction options for almost every offender who does not have to be in prison, such options include alternatives to incarceration centers (AICs), a community service labor program, electronic monitoring, day incarceration, and other programs for youth and adults.
Abstract
Other components include youth confinement centers for drug treatment of drug-involved offenders ages 16-21 years and Project Green, a program that combines drug treatment with community service in State parks. Two other programs are the Women and Children Program, which allows female offenders to live with their children during their participation in a treatment program, and traditional residential drug and alcohol treatment. The alternative sanctions program began 8 years ago due to concerns about prison overcrowding and the credibility of sanctions. Chief Court Administrator Judge Aaron Ment proposed legislation in 1990 to create the Office of Alternative Sanctions and empower judges to sentence offenders directly to intermediate sanctions programs, including drug treatment. The programs have been carefully planned and managed. The Office has also conducted an effective marketing campaign emphasizing the accountability aspects of alternatives to incarceration. More than 150,000 low-risk offenders have gone through the alternative sanctions program since it began. It has saved an estimated $619 million in estimated capital and operating costs. Public and political support appears to be strong. Photographs, reference notes, and list of additional sources of information