Punishments typically identified as intermediate sanctions include intensive supervision probation (ISP), drug courts, fines, community service, day reporting centers, remote-location monitoring, residential reentry centers, and boot camps," (Schmalleger & Smykla, 2020, p. 100). This provides judges with more options than probation and incarceration. For first time offenders or low-level crimes, intermediate sanctions are beneficial to offenders whom probation or incarceration would not be beneficial for and might be too severe of a punishment.

Pros: Intermediate sanctions are beneficial for three big reasons: 1) offenders can give back to victims/communities; 2) they "promote rehabilitation;" 3) they are less expensive than jail or prison (Schmalleger & Smykla, 2020, p. 100). Last week, as a class we were asked if sentencing serves as punishment or if it is for punishment? There are circumstances when the answer to that question will be difficult to answer, and intermediate sanctions provide a route for when that question is complicated. Ideally, a crime should be comparatively matched with a punishment of equal value. This doesn't always happen, but intermediate sanctions provide more opportunities for this to occur.

Cons: One of the immediate concerns regarding intermediate sanctions is that they impose financial burdens on the poor and lower-middle class who are unable to meet the financial obligations. "Many supervision agencies require the people they supervise to pay for drug testing, electronic monitoring, and other programs conditions," which some critics of intermediate sanctions argue can quickly become economic hinderances for low-income offenders and families (The Pew Charitable Trusts, 2020). Another concern regarding intermediate sanctions is that they are just additional pathways to incarceration. Violations of parole or intermediate sanction may be met with harsher punishment.

References

Schmalleger, F. & Smykla, J. O. (2020). Corrections in the 21st Century (9th ed.). McGraw-Hill Higher Education (US). https://ccis.vitalsource.com/books/9781260805321.

The Pew Charitable Trusts. (2020, April 23). Comprehensive policies can improve probation and parole. https://www.pewtrusts.org/en/research-and-analysis/fact-sheets/2020/04/comprehensive-policies-can-improve-probation-and-parole.

CLASSMATE 6: The clear advantage of intermediate sanctions is that they provide a variety of options besides just incarceration or probation. The ability to impose an intermediate sanction on an offender rather than incarcerate them is that it contributes to resolving the overcrowding of jails and prisons problem that we have been facing for decades. Polls indicate that community members and even victims are in favor of intermediate sanctions for a number of reasons. "First, they provide a means for offenders who are not dangerous to repay their victims and their communities. Second, intermediate sanctions promote rehabilitationwhich most citizens want but most prisons and jails find difficult to provideand the reintegration of the offender into the community" (Schmalleger, p. 99).

There are disadvantages to intermediate sanctions as well. When an offender is given the opportunity to avoid jail they often take advantage of that benefit by continuing to commit crimes. One example is ankle monitoring or electronic monitoring of an offender. This is when the offender is ordered to wear an electronic monitoring device on their ankle so their movement and activity can be somewhat tracked. "The disadvantage is if an offender's activity is electronically monitored, the offender could plan crimes, have accomplices visit them, and even commit crimes despite the monitoring" (Schubert, p. 3). I have seen far too many times a gang member get shot, and sometimes killed, and during the investigation it is discovered that one or more of their rival gang members had cut off their ankle monitors just prior to the shooting. This provides the investigators a good lead, but it is still a disadvantage, because if they were incarcerated that shooting may not have occurred.

Intermediate sanctions do provide more options for judges other than probation or incarceration, which is a benefit to offenders because they stay out of custody, and they may not have to be supervised if they remain out of custody. There are many different sanctions such as community service, restitution, fines, electronic monitoring, etc. "What is new today is the effort to bring all these sanctions together into an evidence-based comprehensive sentencing system. It offers judges an expanded menu of sanctions. Punishment increases from left to right as the seriousness of an offense increases" (Schmalleger, p. 98).

References

Schmalleger, F. (2020). Corrections in the 21st Century (9th ed.). McGraw-Hill Higher Education (US). https://ccis.vitalsource.com/books/9781260805321

Schubert, J. (2017). Intermediate Sanctions: Definition, Types, Pros & Cons. Retrieved from https://study.com/academy/lesson/intermediate-sanctions-definition-types-pros-cons.html.

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