Prisons Recommendations

Digest

Factors Impacting Prison Overcrowding

Findings and Recommendations Adopted by the

Legislative Program Review and Investigations Committee 12/19/00

WHAT IS CAUSING PRISON OVERCROWDING?

FINDINGS

Continued increase in the number of offenders sent to prison

High recidivism rate
High rate of offenders returned to prison for violating or unsuccessfully completing community supervision
New criminal offenses added to penal code
"War on drugs"
Harsher penalties for certain types of offenses
Increased role of victim and victim advocacy in the court and parole process

Convicted inmates serving a greater portion of their sentences in prison

Shift from indeterminate to determinate sentencing caused average minimum sentences to increase
Elimination of "good time"
"Truth in sentencing" established time-served standards for parole eligibility and required 100 percent of court-imposed sentence by served either in prison or on parole

Aggressive "tough on crime" approach by legislature and criminal justice system

Allows criminal justice system to narrow its use of discretion and take more conservative and less controversial approach to punishment
General Assembly has increasingly supported more punitive response to crime
Makes alternative, diversionary, and intermediate sanctions less appealing; viewed as "soft on crime"
Targets community correction programs, especially treatment, for de-funding
Does not reserve limited and expensive prison beds for serious, violent, and repeat offenders

Lack of prison beds, especially high security beds

DOC currently operating at capacity
Almost 500 inmates transferred to out-of-state prisons
Dormitory facilities present obvious security and management concerns to department
High security inmates cannot be housed in lower security prisons
Accused offender population increasing, but bed space in jails has not been increased
DOC reports it needs an additional 1,600 high security beds

Poor planning and a lack of an accurate population projection and offender needs analysis

General Assembly and DOC cannot accurately or adequately plan for new facilities without accurate projection of total offender population
Community correction options must be reviewed first to determine flow into and out of prison system
Current projection methods contribute to cycle of overcrowding
DOC cannot build its way out an overcrowding crisis

What options are available to legislature to manage prison population?

Prison Expansion Model

Connecticut's primary response to prison overcrowding over past 20 years
Add new prison beds whenever inmate population exceeds existing capacity
Disproportionate amount of criminal justice resources focused on most punitive sanction -- prison
Services concentrated primarily on small percent of offender population in prison

Community Corrections Model

Community-based sentencing and sanctions structure
System of graduated sanctions provides supervision, treatment, rehabilitation, victim restitution, and public safety
Includes a well-funded system of prisons and jails
Focuses on reducing crime and recidivism
Multi-agency approach
Services concentrated primarily on majority of offender population supervised in the community

What recommendations are required to implement the community corrections model?

1. The mission of the state's community corrections strategy shall be: "to assist the court and/or parole board in assessing offenders' suitability for community placement and, once offenders are placed in the community, to enforce the court-ordered sanctions, protect public safety, assist offenders' rehabilitation, and support the rights of their victims."

2. The General Assembly shall establish a sentencing task force responsible for evaluating, in accordance with the recommended community corrections policy, the criminal sentencing process at the felony level. The task force shall:

review existing sentencing laws;
evaluate the actual versus intended impact of sentencing practices and trends as they relate to the overall policy;
measure the impact of sentencing laws and practices on the growth of the inmate and community-supervised offender populations;
review all statutory and administrative bond options and practices (e.g., "cash" bail);
assess the effectiveness of mandatory minimum sentences, persistent offender statutes, and eligibility criteria for criminal justice sentencing and sanction options;
estimate the cost of any changes proposed; and
report its findings and recommendations to the Judiciary Committee and General Assembly by January 1, 2002.

The sentencing task force shall be comprised of the following members:

state's attorney appointed by the chief state's attorney;
public defender appointed by the chief public defender;
chief administrative judge of the criminal court;
bail commissioner appointed by the chief court administrator;
probation supervisor appointed by the chief court administrator;
commissioner of the Department of Correction;
chairman of the Board of Parole;
state's victim advocate;
assistant attorney general from the criminal justice section appointed by the attorney general;
representative from the Connecticut Bar Association's criminal justice section;
House and Senate chairman of the Judiciary Committee; and
six legislators appointed as follows: one by the speaker of the house, one by the senate president pro tempore, one by the majority leader of the house, one by the minority leader of the house, one by the majority leader of the senate, and one by the minority leader of the senate.

The House and Senate chairmen of the Judiciary Committee shall be the co-chairmen of the task force. Non-partisan, legislative staff shall be assigned to assist the commission, which shall terminate at the conclusion of its work.

3. A Prison Impact Assessment shall be required for any legislation that may modify or impact the rate of prosecution, rate or length of incarceration, computation of time served, or may be expected to affect the number of offenders incarcerated, paroled, placed on probation, or sentenced to any other alternative sentencing option or sanction. The assessment will be conducted by the General Assembly's Office of Fiscal Analysis and Office of Legislative Research.

4. The Office of Policy and Management shall ensure the Justice Planning Division comply with its mandate. It is further recommended the Justice Planning Division conduct a systemwide study of recidivism that will:

define recidivism to include, but not be limited to: (1) new crimes committed by persons not in custody or under the supervision of the criminal justice system, but who have a previous adult or juvenile criminal conviction; and (2) offenses committed by offenders while under the supervision of the criminal justice system;
track rates of recidivism;
identify the point in the system at which offenders recidivate (e.g., length of time after discharge from custody or supervision before a new crime is committed and length of time an offender is under community supervision before a crime is committed);
identify the types of offenses committed (i.e., new crime, technical violation of supervision conditions, and increase or decrease in severity of offense);
determine services and programs provided prior to or at the time the offender recidivates;
examine the dispositions of offenses (e.g., new sentence, parole revoked, violation of probation, or other sanction such as placement in residential program or additional services or conditions); and
evaluate institutional and community-based programs and services provided to offenders to determine their efficacy at reducing recidivism.

5. The Prison and Jail Overcrowding Commission shall meet at least quarterly each year and comply with its statutory obligation to produce an annual statewide plan.

6. The director of the Office of Policy and Management's Justice Planning Division shall be designated in statute as the permanent chairman of the Prison and Jail Overcrowding Commission.

7. The chairman of the Board of Parole shall be added in statute as a voting member of the Prison and Jail Overcrowding Commission.

8. A permanent Community Corrections Subcommittee to the Prison and Jail Overcrowding Commission shall be established. The Community Corrections Subcommittee shall:

make recommendations to develop and implement community-based sentencing and sanction options;
coordinate the efforts of all criminal justice agencies in accordance with the recommended sentencing policy;
examine the impact of laws and policies on community-based sentencing and sanction options;
examine the impact of community-based sentencing and sanction options on prison overcrowding;
assist the Prison and Jail Overcrowding Commission to develop a statewide criminal justice plan to prevent overcrowding that includes pre-trial and post-sentencing options that minimize the number of offenders in prison;
coordinate community-based sentencing and sanction options with state mental health and substance abuse plans;
develop strategies to assist in the siting of community-based programs and services; and
research and analyze data regarding the impact of community correction efforts on reducing crime and recidivism and the resulting impact on prison overcrowding.

The subcommittee shall submit an annual plan with recommendations to Prison and Jail Overcrowding Commission, which shall be included in the commission's annual statewide plan submitted to the governor and General Assembly. The subcommittee shall meet at least quarterly each year, and be staffed by Office of Policy and Management.

The Community Corrections Subcommittee shall be comprised of the following members appointed by the governor unless otherwise indicated:

executive director of the judicial branch's Court Support Services Division;
executive director of Board of Parole;
deputy warden for Department of Correction Division of Community Enforcement ;
director of Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services Community Forensic Services;
two representatives from a community policing program, one from an urban police department and one from a suburban police department;
two representatives from the Council of Municipalities, one from urban area and one from a suburban area;
Superior Court judge from a Judicial District (JD) court appointed by chief court administrator;
Superior Court judge from a Geographic Area (GA) court or community court program (i.e., drug court, family violence court, community court) appointed by the chief court administrator;
assistant state's attorney appointed by the chief state's attorney;
public defender appointed by chief public defender;
state's victim advocate;
four representatives from community-based service providers -- one from a residential substance abuse treatment program, one from an out-patient substance abuse treatment program, one from a residential program providing other types of services (i.e., shelter, mental health, work release), and one from a non-residential program providing other types of services; and
director of the Connecticut Justice Education Center.

9. The General Assembly shall reinvest in the community corrections strategy to protect public safety and appropriately and efficiently reserve prison resources for the most serious, violent, and repeat offenders. The General Assembly shall provide funding to ensure: (1) adequate staffing levels for community supervision through adult probation and parole, adding at a maximum 50 parole officers and 160 probation officers to current personnel resources over the next three years; and (2) treatment, training, and rehabilitation programs, including but not limited to substance abuse, mental health, education or vocational training, life skills, anger management, sex offender treatment, halfway house, and community service, that are sufficient to meet the service needs of the population of incarcerated and community supervised offenders.

10. A sentence worksheet shall be prepared as part of the pre-sentence investigation required by state law or upon request by the court. The sentence worksheet shall be presented to the court during the sentencing hearing. It shall serve to provide the court and the defendant with an estimate of the required time to be served on the sentence, parole eligibility, and period of probation or special parole. The sentence worksheet shall be a guideline based on prevailing sentencing laws, regulations, and policies. The worksheet shall not constitute a guarantee of any eligibility for an early release from prison, reduction of sentence length, or participation in a program.

11. The judicial branch shall establish sentencing teams at all criminal court locations. Each sentencing team shall be comprised of a judge, state's attorney, public defender, bail commissioner, probation officer, criminal sanctions monitor, a representative from the Department of Correction, and a parole officer from the board's hearings division. The objectives of the sentencing teams are to:

maximize the use of graduated sanctions for pre-trial and sentenced offenders;
increase criminal justice agencies' awareness of, investment in, and commitment to the community corrections strategy through the development of a collaborative planning and resource allocation process;
enhance efficiency and effectiveness of criminal sentencing by improving the organizational capacity of the criminal justice system; and
raise victim and public awareness of the safety and rehabilitative value of community corrections.

12. A "split" sentence of a period of incarceration followed by probation may only be imposed when the aggregate, non-suspended prison term is one year or less. A period of special parole may be imposed when the aggregate, non-suspended prison term is greater than one year.

When imposing a sentence of special parole, the courts shall set the conditions of release. The court may order the offender:

be employed or participate in education or vocational training;
undergo medical or psychiatric treatment, including placement in an institution for that purpose;
support dependents and meet other family obligations;
make restitution to the victim or victim's family;
refrain from further criminal activity;
reside in a residential community center or halfway house;
participate in a community service program;
undergo specialized sexual offender treatment, if convicted of a sexual assault crime; and
satisfy any other conditions reasonably related to the offender's rehabilitation or public safety.

The Board of Parole shall monitor and enforce compliance with the court-ordered conditions of special parole. The board shall have the authority to modify, delete, or add, without a court hearing, any stipulation necessary to comply with the court's order or the supervision of the offender.

13. The special parole law shall be amended as follows. The parole board:

shall automatically take custody of an inmate under special parole upon the completion of the court-ordered prison term and discharge from DOC custody;
may revoke special parole after an administrative hearing and re-parole an inmate at any time during the remaining period of special parole without a court order;
may revoke special parole for technical violation of a release condition set by the court or board or a new criminal offense; and
shall have the authority to issue a mittimus to incarcerate without a court order an inmate for any period of the special parole sentence after special parole has been revoked.

14. The Board of Parole shall retain all discretionary release authority granted under state law. The board, however, shall be required to reassess the suitability for parole release of those inmates who have not otherwise been parole by the board after serving 50 percent of their court-imposed sentence. A panel of the board shall reassess inmates upon serving 75 percent of their sentence for release to parole based on the following standards:

there is reasonable probability the inmate will live and remain at liberty without violating the law; and
the inmate's release to community supervision and transition substantially outweighs any period of continued confinement.

The board shall also apply the recommended standards when determining suitability for parole release of those inmates required to serve 85 percent of their court-imposed sentence.

After reassessment, if the board determines continued confinement is necessary, it shall articulate for the record the specific reasons why the inmate and the public would not benefit from a period of community supervision.

15. The 15-member, part-time parole board as established in current state law shall be abolished and replaced with a three-member, full-time board consisting of a chairman and two board members. The terms of the three members shall be four-years, coterminous with the governor.

The chairman shall be qualified by education, experience, and training in the administration of community corrections, probation, or parole. One board member shall be qualified by education, experience, and training in the administration of substance abuse and mental health treatment services and one board member shall be qualified by education, experience, and training in the law.

The chairman of the Board of Parole shall be the chief executive of the agency and have the authority and responsibility for:

establishing policy and regulation in all areas of parole, including decisionmaking, release criteria, and supervision standards;
consulting with the Department of Correction on shared issues, including prison overcrowding;
consulting with the judicial branch on shared community supervision issues;
signing and issuing subpoenas to compel the attendance and testimony of witnesses at parole proceedings;
placing in a community-based residential program any inmate within 18 months of their voted-to-parole status or any inmate who is within 18 months of presumptive parole release; and
overseeing the administrative affairs of the board.

The chairman and two parole board members shall convene and conduct all panel, revocation, and rescission hearings and approve parole releases recommended by the administrative review process.

16. The board shall create three new administrative positions: executive director for parole, an assistant director for hearings division, and an assistant director for parole supervision. The executive director shall be appointed by the chairman. The executive director shall oversee the administration of the agency and, at the discretion of the chairman:

direct and supervise all administrative affairs of the board;
prepare the budget and annual operation plan;
assign staff to administrative reviews, regions, and supervision offices;
organize parole hearing calendars;
implement a uniform case filing and processing system;
establish specialized parole units;
establish parole officer to parolee caseload ratios based on supervision levels and standards with the objective that the average parole caseload after January 1, 2004 does not exceed 65;
enter into contracts with service providers, community programs, and consultants;
create development, training, and education programs for staff and board members; and
establish, develop, and maintain non-institutional, community-based service programs.

The chairman and executive director shall be further required to develop policies and procedures for:

parole revocation and rescission hearings that include implementing due process requirements and creating a bifurcated system with a preliminary evidentiary hearing and a formal hearing;
graduated sanctions system for parole violations including, but not limited to, re-imprisonment based on the type, severity, and frequency of the offense and specific lengths of incarceration for certain types of violations (e.g., 10 days re-incarceration for first failed drug test); and
parole orientation program for all convicted, parole-eligible inmates upon their admission to DOC that provides general information on: the laws and policies regarding parole release; calculation of time-served standards; general conditions of release; supervision practices; revocation and rescission policies; procedure for administrative review and panel hearing; and any other information the board deems relevant for preparing inmates for parole.

17. The Department of Correction shall conduct a feasibility study on establishing a revocation center for parole and probation violators that includes an assessment of converting an existing DOC dormitory prison into such a facility. The department shall consult with the parole board and judicial branch's adult probation to develop a proposal for the institutional program and admission and release procedures for the revocation center. The study shall be submitted to the General Assembly by January 1, 2002.

18. To encourage the siting of necessary community-based programs and services for accused and sentenced offenders, the General Assembly shall consider the following options:

provide state funds to reimburse nonprofit agencies for full payment of local property taxes;
authorize state criminal justice agencies to purchase buildings to lease to nonprofit service providers as part of a contract for treatment, rehabilitation, monitoring, supervision, or other service or program;
require state criminal justice agencies to provide technical, financial, or other assistance to nonprofit service providers in the local zoning and siting process; or
appropriate state funds as part of the community corrections budget that are specifically set aside to provide incentive payments to communities sufficient to encourage them to host a residential or nonresidential program or service.

19. The Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services, in cooperation with the Connecticut Alcohol and Drug Policy Council, shall evaluate the need for substance abuse and mental health services among the pre-trial and sentenced, incarcerated and community-supervised offender population and shall develop a plan to fund and provide such treatment and services in correctional facilities and the community. The plan shall be submitted to the General Assembly January 1, 2002.

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