4.3: Intermediate Sanctions
Traditionally, a person convicted of an offense was sentenced to probation or sentenced to prison. There was no middle ground. The purpose of intermediate sanctions is to seek that middle ground by providing a punishment that is more severe than probation alone, yet less severe that a period of incarceration. Perhaps the most common among these alternatives is Intensive Supervision Probation (ISP). Offenders given to this sort of intermediate sanction are assigned to an officer with a reduced caseload. Caseloads are reduced in order to provide the officer with more time to supervise each individual probationer. Frequent surveillance and frequent drug testing characterize most ISP programs. Offenders are usually chosen for these programs because they have been judged to be at a high risk for reoffending.
Another common type of alternative to prison is the work release program . These programs are designed to maintain environmental control over offenders while allowing them to remain in the workforce. Most often, offenders sentenced to a work release program reside in a work release center, which can be operated by a county jail, or be part of the state prison system. Either way, work-release center residents are allowed to leave confinement for work related purposes. Otherwise, they are locked in a secure facility.
Correctional boot camps are facilities run along similar lines to military boot camps. Military style discipline and structure along with rigorous physical training are the hallmarks of these programs. Usually, relatively young and nonviolent offenders are sentenced to terms ranging from three to six months in boot camps. Research has found that convicts view boot camps as more punitive than prison and would prefer prison sentence to being sent to boot camp. Research has also shown that boot camp programs are no more effective at reducing long-term recidivism than other sanctions.