NCJ Number
133082
Date Published
1990
Length
6 pages
Annotation
The Florida Community Control Program (FCCP) is an intensive supervision/house arrest program implemented by the Florida Department of Corrections in late 1983.
Abstract
The program is designed to function as an alternative sanction for offenders who would otherwise receive State prison sentences. Major program goals are to reduce prison crowding and provide a safe, punishment-oriented community alternative to imprisonment. The FCCP represents the single largest intensive supervision prison diversion program in the country. Over 60,000 offenders have been placed in community control since the program's inception. In addition, the degree of control exerted over participants is exceptionally high. Caseloads are very small, ranging from 20 to 25 offenders per supervising officer, and offenders sentenced to community control are often placed on house arrest and can only leave home for necessities. The minimum expectation is that supervising officers will make 28 offender contacts each month. In addition to routine surveillance, officers perform drug and alcohol screening and encourage offenders to perform community service work, make restitution to victims, and pay the cost of supervision fees. An evaluation of the FCCP shows that it has eased Florida's prison crowding problems somewhat, is effective with the population it serves (offenders who might otherwise be sentenced to prison), and is cost-effective. As a sentencing alternative to prison, the FCCP appears to exert the most favorable impact on drug offenders. It is not clear, however, whether the FCCP has led to an increase in probation revocations. 1 table