NCJ Number
122712
Date Published
1990
Length
24 pages
Annotation
Actual sentences imposed on defendants who participated in North Carolina's Community Penalties Program in 1987-1988 were compared with sentences that would likely have been imposed on them outside the program.
Abstract
The study was accomplished by statistically determining whether defendants were prison-bound, meaning whether they were likely to receive a substantial active prison sentence with Community Penalties Program intervention. The North Carolina Department of Crime Control and Public Safety provided information on defendants served by 12 community penalties programs. Of 336 defendants for whom data were available, 276 were male; 206 were white, 128 were black, and 2 were Indian; ages ranged from 16.8 to 61.4 years. Most defendants were high-risk; thus, community penalties programs appeared to target most of their efforts on defendants who were likely to receive substantial prison terms without program intervention. About 70 percent of defendants who were predicted to receive active sentences of at least 12 months actually received shorter active sentences or no active time. This suggested that community penalties programs sharply reduced the use of prison sentences of 12 months or longer. Regular probation was ordered in over two-thirds of the cases, and intensive probation in about one-quarter. When neither type of probation was ordered, the defendant was likely required to serve an action prison term. However, seven defendants received neither active prison terms nor probation. Victim restitution was ordered in about 58 percent of the cases, and the average amount was $3,000. 1 table, 10 figures.