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Report that USSC is working on incarceration alternatives

By Douglas A. Berman

In the Wall Street Journal, Gary Fields has this effective piece discussing what the US Sentencing Commission might have in the works.  Here are lengthy excerpts:The panel that sets sentencing guidelines for federal courts plans to focus on developing alternatives to incarceration, setting up a possible clash with the Justice Department. Exactly what the U.S. Sentencing Commission might recommend isn't clear.  Possible models include bodies such as drug courts, which place offenders in treatment instead of prison.  The panel's intention, which it mentioned in a filing in the Federal Register, could provide an impetus for cash-strapped states to follow suit.  Justice Department spokeswoman Laura Sweeney said the department is hopeful about the use of monitoring technologies and other strategies, but "we do not believe the use of alternatives should be expanded without further rigorous research showing their effectiveness in promoting public safety...continue to full post

Full post as published by Sentencing Law and Policy on September 06, 2008 (boomark / email).