Community Corrections Are an Integral Component of Term Paper

Community corrections are an integral component of any law enforcement correctional program. Community corrections staff, develop, and administer contracts for community-based correctional programs and serve as the Bureau of Prisons (BOP)'s local liaison with the federal courts, the U.S. Marshals Service, state and local corrections, and a variety of community groups. Through the community corrections program, the BOP has developed agreements with state and local governments to house juveniles and prisoners of non-violent crimes (Federal Bureau of Prisons, 2011).

The BOP contracts with residential reentry centers to provide assistance to inmates who have been found to be non-violent offenders. The community centers also include those inmates nearing release at the end of their determined term of incarceration. Residential reentry centers are always under supervision; in addition, they provide employment counseling, job placement, financial management assistance, and other programs and services. RRC's help inmates gradually re-enter the community and facilitate supervising ex-offenders' activities during this period. An important component of the RRC program is transitional drug abuse treatment (TDAT). This program is designed for inmates who have completed the residential drug abuse program (RDAP) while confined in a BOP institution (Federal Bureau of Prisons, 2011).

Regarding a hypothesis regarding the community corrections system, the community corrections program is an alternative to prison for non-violent prisoners. These systems are a win-win for both the prisoner as well as the community that surrounds the site. Community corrections programs are usually operated by probation and parole agencies; the programs can include general community supervision as well as day reporting centers, halfway houses, and other residential facilities. This is a win-win scenario for the community at large because the cost of keeping convicted, non-violent offenders is much less expensive. All community corrections programs have multiple goals of providing offender accountability, delivering rehabilitation services, surveillance, and achieving fiscal efficiency (Federal Bureau of Prisons, 2011).

First, it is important to note that the overwhelming majority of all community corrections programs in the U.S. today have not been scientifically evaluated. So, identifying which ones are performing their jobs best is nearly impossible. Nevertheless, there are definitely many successful programs that are operating today (such as faith-based mentoring, etc.), which if subject to evaluation, might be excellent alternatives to conventional incarceration. But the corrections literature includes evaluations mostly of large federally funded programs, and most of them are services for drug-addicted felons. With that in mind, it is seen that intensive community supervision combined with rehabilitation services can reduce further…