Intermediate Sanctions in Corrections

By Gail A. Caputo

In the past two decades, states and the federal government have developed and implemented new correctional options in an attempt to reduce correctional crowding and costs, better manage higher-risk
offenders in the community, reduce crime, and achieve greater fairness and effectiveness in criminal sentencing for adults. These innovations are referred to as intermediate sanctions programs and are the subject of this book. This book provides a simple but comprehensive description of the intermediate sanctions system and meaningful analysis of the individual programs. The book is organized into three parts.

Part I presents to the reader a background and context for understanding the role of intermediate sanctions in the criminal justice system. It explains the history and development of intermediate sanctions, including philosophies of punishment and an overview of sentencing processes. The key issues for evaluating the effectiveness of intermediate sanctions are outlined in Part I. In Part II, each of the seven chapters focuses on a specific intermediate sanction: intensive supervision programs, boot camps, day reporting centers, home confinement with electronic monitoring, monetary penalties, community service, and halfway houses. Each chapter traces the history of the intermediate sanction, provides statistics on its extent and scope, and describes target populations, program characteristics, and research findings. Program examples are a main feature of each chapter. Part III summarizes the research related to intermediate sanctions and provides recommendations for the future.