Alternative Sentencing & Strategies for Successful Prisoner Reentry

Executive Summary Nationally, more than two million people are serving time in prison on any given day. Missouri ranks eighth in the nation in terms of imprisonment and has experienced substantial growth in incarceration over the past two decades. The reality of mass incarceration and the accruing cost of corrections have led many states to consider implementing alternatives to traditional incarceration and parole. These alternatives between parole and confi nement are often called intermediate sanctions and are intended to provide correctional options that save money and prison beds without introducing risk to public safety. The State of Missouri has made strides in developing sanctions that can serve as an alternative to prison. Section 217.777.1, RSMo, charges the Missouri Department of Corrections with the administration of a community corrections program to encourage the establishment of local sentencing initiatives and correctional alternatives. Among the goals of this legislation and alternative sanctions in general, are to: • Promote the accountability of offenders to crime victims, local communities and the state; • Increase the use of restitution; • Reduce the costs of treatment, punishment and supervision of offenders; and • Improve public confi dence in the criminal justice system by involving the public in the development of community-based sentencing options for eligible offenders. Although the state of Missouri has passed legislation supporting the development of community sanctions and alternatives to imprisonment, there remains a need to develop alternative sanctions that are responsive to the needs of the offender community while maintaining public safety to the community. This study has two main objectives: 1. To describe the problem of relying only on traditional sentencing and parole; and 2. To identify best practices in terms of alternative sentencing schemes used by other states. To collect this information, the Institute of Public Policy evaluated the relevant research literature on alternative sentencing, reports from state agencies and think tanks, and other relevant state and federal data. Several states including Pennsylvania, Virginia, and Oregon all provide alternative sentencing models that seek to reduce recidivism and save taxpayer money.