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CLASSIFICATION AND TREATMENT IN THE COMMUNITY AND THE INSTITUTION (FROM HANDBOOK ON CORRECTIONAL CLASSIFICATION - PROGRAMMING FOR TREATMENT AND REINTEGRATION, 1978, BY L HIPPCHEN ET AL -SEE NCJ-52526

NCJ Number
52529
Author(s)
T G EYNON
Date Published
1978
Length
29 pages
Annotation
CLASSIFICATIONS FOR DIVERSION, PROBATION, INCARCERATION, PAROLE, AND RESOCIALIZATION ARE DISCUSSED, ALONG WITH A CONSIDERATION OF RECENT DEVELOPMENTS IN CLASSIFICATION.
Abstract
WITH THE TREND TOWARD RESOCIALIZATION OF OFFENDERS IN THE COMMUNITY, EFFORTS MUST BE EXPENDED TO CHANGE FROM INSTITUTION-BASED CLASSIFICATION TO COMMUNITY-BASED CLASSIFICATION THEORY AND PRACTICE. CLASSIFICATION OCCURS AT EACH STAGE IN THE SYSTEM, WHETHER OR NOT IT IS FORMALLY DEVELOPED. CLASSIFICATION IN THE EXERCISE OF POLICE DISCRETION IN DECIDING WHETHER TO ARREST IS DISCUSSED AT THE OUTSET. CLASSIFICATION IS IMPORTANT IN BOTH SCREENING AND DIVERSION BECAUSE BOTH ACTIVITIES EMPLOY SOME SORT OF CRITERIA AND CATEGORIZE OFFENDERS AS TO THE NEED FOR FURTHER PROCESSING. FACTORS TO BE CONSIDERED IN THE CLASSIFICATION PROCESS ARE LISTED, AND EXAMPLES OF DIVERSION PROGRAMS FOR SELECTED CATEGORIES OF OFFENDERS ARE PROVIDED. CLASSIFICATION FOR PROBATION FOCUSES ON THE PRESENTENCE REPORT PREPARED FOR THE JUDGE TO HELP HIM DETERMINE THE APPROPRIATE SENTENCE FOR A GIVEN OFFENDER. EXAMPLES OF INFORMATION USED IN SUCH REPORTS ARE PROVIDED FROM VARIOUS JURISDICTIONS. PREDICTION STUDIES OF PROBATION SUCCESS ARE ALSO CONSIDERED. TYPES OF CLASSIFICATION SYSTEMS USED IN INCARCERATION ENVIRONMENTS ARE SPECIFIED, AND CONCLUSIONS FROM RECENT STUDIES ON PRISON CLASSIFICATION SYSTEMS ARE DISCUSSED. VARIOUS CRITERIA USED IN CLASSIFICATION FOR PAROLE ARE ALSO CONSIDERED, USING EXAMPLES FROM PARTICULAR STUDIES AND JURISDICTIONAL PRACTICES. RECENT DEVELOPMENTS IN RESEARCH AND INSTRUMENT DEVELOPMENT RELATING TO CLASSIFICATION ARE EXAMINED, AND THE USE OF A COMPUTERIZED SYSTEM IN HANDLING CLASSIFICATION DATA IS DESCRIBED AS A RECENT DEVELOPMENT. AN EXAMPLE OF A PROBATION EVALUATION SCORE SHEET IS PROVIDED FROM THE DALLAS PROBATION DEPARTMENT. (RCB)