Effective Alternatives to Incarceration: Police Collaborations with Corrections and Communities

• NCJ Number: 232366
• Author(s): Joanne Katz, J.D.; Gene Bonham, Ph.D.
• Date Published: 2009
• Length: 96 pages
• Grant Number(s): 2003-CK-WX-K069
• Sponsoring Agency: Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS)
• Sale Source: Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS)
• Publication Format: Document
• Publication Type: Research (Applied/Empirical)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This document examines the need for viable alternatives to incarceration of offenders.

Abstract

As a result of the increase in "get-tough" policies across the country, more low-risk offenders are being incarcerated for nonviolent crimes and parole and probation violations. The authors indicate that this increase in the incarceration rate over the past years has had tremendous impact, in terms of increased financial and human costs, on offenders, their families, and the community at large. It is recommended that to counter these increased costs, viable alternatives to incarceration need to be considered. This document is divided into five sections that cover the following: 1) Alternatives to Incarceration: A New Role for Police; 2) A Model Program for Juveniles: Juvenile Detention Alternative Initiative; 3) New Approaches to Traditional Collaboration; 4) Restorative Justice: Accountability, Restitution, and Transformation; and 5) Mental Illness and the Criminal Justice System: A New Era. References