Are Jail Sanctions More Punitive Than Community-Based Punishments? An Examination Into the Perceived Severity of Alternative Sanctions in Community Supervision

Abstract

The use of sanctions in community supervision has received considerable attention in recent years. Fueled in large part by the attention given to the swift, certain, and fair (SCF) sanctioning model, many agencies have adopted sanctioning programs, which often rely heavily on the use of short-term jail incarceration. In addition to jail, there exist a number of alternative, community-based punishments that can be utilized to respond to instances of noncompliance, including enhanced drug testing and community service hours. Little is known, however, about how individuals perceive community-based sanctions compared with jail. This study addresses this issue by examining perceptions of sanctions among individuals under community supervision. Survey findings indicate that community-based punishments are not viewed as being substantially less punitive than jail incarceration. In addition, perceptions of sanction severity are influenced by a variety of individual, experiential, and supervision-level factors. The policy implications of the study findings are discussed.

The Pendulum of Community Supervision: The Emergence of RNR, Working Alliance, and Motivational Factors as a Means to Improve Supervision

“…Given their origins as tough-on-crime punishment, intermediate sanctions are perceived as quite punitive. Despite being described as an option that is more severe than traditional probation but less severe than prison (Homant & DeMercurio, 2009), receivers of intermediate sanctions rate them as equal to or greater than a period of incarceration in terms of punitiveness and unpleasantness (Spelman, 1995;Wodahl et al, 2020). In fact, Petersilia and Deschenes (1994) found that one-third of individuals surveyed preferred incarceration over intermediate sanctions because officers had high levels of discretion leading to unpredictable sanctions.…”

Stacking punishment: The imposition of consecutive sentences in Pennsylvania

“…Similarly, Lehmann and Gomez (2021) found that judges in Florida were more likely to impose probation after incarceration for individuals convicted of violent offenses, relative to the odds of a prison sentence without probation. While monitored, individuals under supervision are expected to perform according to a script of trying to make good 18 —indeed individuals tend to consider probation supervision as relatively punitive, rather than rehabilitative (Wodahl et al., 2020). Probation tails after incarceration and appended probation sentences, then, may be seen as ways to increase monitoring of individuals who judges deem to be “too risky.”…”