Summary: Current Issues In Criminal Justice

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Current Issues in Criminal Justice – 2 Individual Work – Week 11 By Sandra Scott Instructor Donald Kalamas March 24, 2014 The two types of treatment-related community corrections programs that I chose to talk about are; South Dakota’s 24/7 Sobriety Project and Hawaii’s Opportunity Probation with Enforcement. Former Attorney General of South Dakota Judge Larry Long constructed the South Dakota’s 24/7 Sobriety Project with the major objective to reduce the state’s extremely high rate of alcohol-related crime. (Wadsworth and T. Scott, 2011). The program focuses on high-risk repeat DUI offenders, who have been arrested at least one prior time; approximately 48% of the participants have three or more DUI offenses. (Wadsworth and T.…show more content…
The procedure of this program is as follows; South Dakota provides all DUI offenders with treatment in a separate parallel program that deals with the root of the problem which is substance abuse. Participants are prohibited from consuming alcohol and/or illegal drugs while under the supervision of the program. Alcohol metabolizes quickly in the body, so participants must submit to either twice-daily alcohol testing, generally completed at the local Sheriff’s Office, and those offenders who live quite a distant away from testing sites have the option of wearing a continuous transdermal ankle monitoring bracelet that tracks alcohol use. The offenders are also subject to random urinalysis testing or required to wear sweat patches to monitor drug use. Offenders can remain or obtain employment to support themselves and/or their families because they can continue to drive while being closely monitored for drug/alcohol consumption. The…show more content…
This program is geared towards probationers who are drug-involved, or committed crimes involving domestic violence, sexual abuse. HOPE provides treatment to offenders who request it and to those who demonstrate a need for it through persistent relapses in drug use. Benefits of limited mandated substance abuse treatment are; it cuts down on the expensive costs of treatment, saving the program and state money, and not all drug using offenders require treatment to stop their pattern of drug use, just a reason not to use it. (Wadsworth and T. Scott, 2011)Judge Steven S. Alm of the First Circuit Court of Hawaii introduced this program in Honolulu. Probationers who have committed any of the above mentioned crimes enter HOPE through a warning hearing. (Wadsworth and T. Scott, 2011) Participants are often tested for alcohol and drug use on a random basis. If a participant is suspected of violation, within 72 hours they attend a hearing. Once there is a confirmation of the violation, the offender serves an immediate short-term jail sentence. When the offender is released, he/she returns to the HOPE program. (Wadsworth and T. Scott,

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