NCJ Number
205818
Date Published
2003
Length
10 pages
Annotation
This paper discusses the enhancement of community-based treatment for offenders in Korea.
Abstract
Prison overcrowding in Korea is not a new issue and was substantially aggravated by the 1997 economic crisis. During the years 1991 through 2000, the average number of inmates in each of Korea’s 44 correctional facilities outnumbered the legal maximum number of inmates allowed. The three main reasons for the prison overcrowding crisis in Korea are attributed to (1) the practice of incarcerating suspects prior to conviction; (2) the public opinion that all offenders should be incarcerated; and (3) the increase in the crime rate stemming from the 1997 economic crisis. The consequences of prison overcrowding include a deterioration of the prison environment and ineffective correctional services, in general. Heavy caseloads and a shortage of correctional staff further dampen the morale of officers and prisoners in the Korean system. The next section focuses on community-based treatment as non-custodial measures available in the Korean criminal justice system. Community-based treatment measures include diversion programs at both police and prosecution levels, fines, suspended sentences, probation, and parole. Diversion programs allow police and prosecutors the discretion to make decisions concerning offenders that can conceivably reduce the number of offenders formally processed through the criminal justice system. Fines and suspended sentences serve the primary purpose of avoiding a sentence of imprisonment. Probation is the most common form of community-based treatment in the Korean system, available since 1963 when the Juvenile Act was amended. The legislative content of probation in each relevant Act is reviewed, including probation in the Criminal Act, probation under the Sex Offender’s Punishment and Victim Protection Act, and probation in the Probation Act. The relationship between probation, Community Service Orders, and Attendance Center Orders is explicated. Parole is the final community-based treatment for offenders and is intended as a mechanism for the early release of prisoners who have demonstrated good behavior during their incarceration. At the writing of this paper, the Korean Correction Bureau had plans to contract one prison to a private entity as a further step toward solving the prison population dilemma. The continuing development of alternative sanctions to incarceration is critical for Korea as well as many other nations. Tables, references