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61 Fed. Probation 5 (1997)
Federal Probation and Pretrial Services - A Cost-Effective and Successful Community Corrections System

handle is hein.journals/fedpro61 and id is 7 raw text is: Federal Probation and Pretrial Services- A Cost-Effective and Successful Community Corrections System By LOREN A.N. BUDDRESS Chief United States Probation Officer, Northern District of California, and Chair, Chiefs Advisory Council Introduction S WE approach the 21st century, our elected representatives in both parties are looking for opportunities to reduce government costs. The need to remain tough on crime is a criminal justice issue about which there is near consensus. Current leg- islation and criminal justice policy meet the test of not coddling criminals. However, legislators have not begun to develop a criminal justice plan that is both success- ful and cost effective. The solution to the paradox of how to remain vigilant against crime, but to do so in a fiscally responsible man- ner, lies directly before us. The federal probation and pretrial services system offers a solution to the dilem- ma facing lawmakers and public officials. The system has years of proven, unique success with those it super- vises; it achieves this success at one-tenth the cost of in- carcerating offenders; it fulfills its mission to protect the public by effectively using correctional resources to reduce offender recidivism; and in addition to saving millions of taxpayer dollars, it makes possible sociolog- ical gains for offenders as well as for society. What needs to transpire to create a shift in our crim- inal justice paradigm? Two factors must change: First our leaders must understand that federal probation and pretrial services supervision is substantially un- derutilized. More than 20 percent of the offenders cur- rently in federal prison are described by Bureau of Pris- on officials as first-time, nonviolent offenders (Criminal Justice Newsletter, 1994, p. 7). These individuals should be punished locally and supervised by probation and pretrial services officers at a fraction of the costs of im- prisonment. Second, we in the federal probation and pretrial services system must prepare for these new challenges by creating a vision of our system, by agree- ing upon a plan of how to implement the vision, by mea- suring and evaluating our practices to plan improve- ments, and by educating our constituents about our abilities and our accomplishments. Successful and Cost-Effective Corrections In the present era of fiscal conservatism marked by reduced resources and governmental downsizing, elected representatives and policy makers are continu- ally challenged to find new solutions to the crime prob- lem, solutions which are both successful and cost effec- tive. Simply stated, the federal probation and pretrial services system provides unequaled successful and cost-efficient community corrections. The system is also a remarkably underutilized resource. In this period of revolving door corrections, a high percentage of of- fenders supervised in the community are returned to prison for technical violations of supervision. According to the San Mateo Times, in 1989 less than 20 percent of first-year California Department of Corrections parol- ees successfully completed their supervision (San Ma- teo Times, 1991, p. 13). During this same time, the fed- eral probation and pretrial services system enjoyed a remarkable success rate. According to the Administra- tive Office of the U.S. Courts, between 1986 and 1994 the system maintained, on average, a success rate of 77 percent-that is, 77 percent of all offenders successfully completed their term of supervision. Such a success rate, over almost a decade, is unique. By comparison, according to the public information office of the California Department of Corrections, the State of California's success rate for offenders on parole over the same period is 26.8 percent. The success of fed- eral supervision practices also has obvious and sub- stantial fiscal implications. According to a March 10, 1995, memorandum of the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts, supervision cost for an offender under fed- eral probation and pretrial services system supervision is $2,344 per year. The cost of incarcerating that same individual in a federal prison is $21,352; however, this figure does not take into account the additional expense of health care costs of $3,431 per year (Corrections Compendium, 1996, p. 13). These health care expenses, combined with the incarceration costs, result in a total expense to the taxpayer of $24,783 per year per inmate imprisoned in a federal facility. Therefore, for each per- son returned to prison for a supervision violation, the cost for reincarceration is a staggering 10.6 times the cost of having the same person punished and super- vised in the community by federal probation and pre- trial services officers. The point of this comparison is that the higher the success rate for individuals under Vol. 61, No. 1

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