RD236 - Prison-Bound Violators


Executive Summary:
In accordance with the 2008 Appropriations Act, Chapter 879, Section 387-D, the Department of Corrections (DOC) is reporting on the potential costs and benefits of steps required to divert up to 50 percent (50%) of prison-bound nonviolent offenders who have scored no more than 38 points on the risk assessment instrument of the Virginia Criminal Sentencing Commission. In FY 2007, DOC received 1,035 such offenders. We were to confer with the Commission on ways to secure input from the judicial branch.

On July 21, 2008, our staff met with Commission Members, Commission staff, Deputy Secretary of Public Safety, staff from the Senate Finance and House Appropriations Committees, staff from the Department of Planning and Budget, and a Judge from the Chief Justice’s Drug Treatment Court Advisory Committee to discuss the above styled charge.

One of the primary suggestions was to have our Chief Probation and Parole Officers and Facility Superintendents confer with their respective Circuit Court judges and advise of their suggestions. This action was initially proposed at our statewide Senior Management meeting in June 2008 and was specifically followed up on July 22, 2008 by Mr. James Camache, Deputy Director, Division of Community Corrections. An additional suggestion was to improve the availability of and access to substance abuse treatment services.

There is general consensus that the matter of criminal sentencing which provides equal justice, procedural fairness, appropriate sanctions, and services which reduce the likelihood of criminal behavior is complex. A variety of responses which serve to reduce victimization, lower crime rates, and reserve costly incarceration space for the most serious offenders are needed.