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Rick Scott, Governor
Florida Department of Corrections, Secretary Michael D. Crews

Florida Department of Corrections
Michael D. Crews, Secretary

95-96 Annual Report
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Community Corrections

Overview

Community Corrections is responsible for the supervision of almost 138,000 offenders under community supervision annually. Comprehensive community supervision comprises a multitude of human resources, programs, automation and communication systems, and specialized supervision approaches. The following is a brief overview of the programs and operations that make up this area of the Florida Department of Corrections.

Original Sentence

PROBATION
Probation is a court-ordered term of community supervision under specified conditions for a specific period of time that cannot exceed the maximum sentence for the offense. The probationer is required to abide by all conditions ordered by the court. Violation of these conditions may result in revocation by the court and imposition of any sentence which it might have imposed before placing the offender on probation. The probationer is generally required to pay the cost of supervision to the state of Florida, and may have additional conditions requiring payment of restitution, court costs and fines, public service and various types of treatment.
The probationer is usually required to visit his supervising officer in the local field office at least once a month and depending on the probationer's status, the officer may visit the offenders at his home and/or his place of employment.
ADMINISTRATIVE PROBATION
Administrative Probation is a form of non-contact supervision in which an offender who represents a low risk of harm to the community may, upon satisfactory completion of half the term of probation, be placed on non-reporting status until expiration of the term of supervision. The department is authorized to collect an initial processing fee of up to $50 for each offender reduced to administrative probation. Periodic record checks are completed to ensure the offender has not violated the law.
DRUG OFFENDER PROBATION
Drug Offender Probation is an intensive form of supervision which emphasizes treatment of drug offenders in accordance with individualized treatment plans. The program includes elements of surveillance and random drug testing. Increased contacts are made by correctional probation senior officers to ensure offenders remain drug free.
COMMUNITY CONTROL
Community Control is a form of intensive supervised custody in the community, including surveillance on weekends and holidays, administered by officers with limited caseloads. It is an individualized program in which the freedom of the offender is restricted within the community, home or non-institutional residential placement, and specified sanctions are imposed and enforced. As with probation, violation of any community control condition may result in revocation by the court and imposition of any sentence which it might have imposed before placing the offender on community control supervision. Many of the offenders who are placed on community control are prison diversions.
COMMUNITY CONTROL II (Electronic Monitoring)
The use of electronic monitoring as an enhancement to community control continues to receive judicial approval. Electronic monitoring exists in all twenty (20) judicial circuits. These units are monitored on a 24 hour a day basis by private vendors who immediately report all violations to probation staff for further investigation.
PRETRIAL INTERVENTION
Any individual who is charged with any non-violent third degree felony is eligible for release to the pretrial intervention program. Approval of the administrator and the consent of the victim, the state attorney, and the judge hearing the case are required in order to formally accept the offender into the program. If the offender completes all conditions of the program which could include restitution to the victim, counseling and/or community service, then the state attorney's office will not prosecute the case. Since the statute has been changed to allow any non-violent third degree felony as criteria for entrance into the program, PTI caseloads have steadily increased, as has the risk level of these offenders.

Post-Prison Release

PAROLE
Parole is a post-prison supervision program where eligible inmates have the terms and conditions of parole set by the Florida Parole Commission. Parole supervision is provided by the Department of Corrections. There are currently 1,166 active Florida parolees and 6,068 Florida inmates eligible for parole.
Parole is a conditional extension of the limits of confinement after an offender has served part of his sentence. The period of parole cannot exceed the balance of the sentence. Under parole, the offender is to be supervised in the community under specific conditions. Although Florida no longer has parole except for those offenders sentenced for offenses committed prior to October 1, 1983, caseloads have increased. These increases are attributed to other state cases which have transferred for supervision within Florida.
CONDITIONAL RELEASE
Inmates sentenced to murder/manslaughter, sexual offenses, robbery or other violent personal crimes, and who have a previous commitment to a state or federal institution or have been convicted as a Habitual Offender or Sexual Predator meet the criteria for conditional release. Upon reaching their release dates with accrued gaintime, inmates are placed on conditional release to serve up to the remainder of their length of sentence. Conditional release eligible inmates often accrue less gaintime than other inmates due to the nature of their offenses. Conditional release is not technically an "early release" mechanism as it merely provides for post release supervision for those considered serious offenders for up to the amount of gaintime accrued.
CONTROL RELEASE
Control release is an administrative function solely used to manage the state prison population within lawful capacity. The Control Release Authority is composed of all members of the Florida Parole Commission who, through a system of uniform criteria , determine the number and type of inmates to be released. The number of inmates released prior to expiration of their sentences is based on the population reduction required. A period of control release supervision may or may not be required. Control release has not been necessary since December 1994, due to adequate prison space.
ADMINISTRATIVE CONTROL RELEASE
Established in 1992 to allow for control release without supervision, the Florida Parole Commission, Rule 23.22.013, was amended to provide an alternative to standard control release supervision. The Commission is authorized to require a control term for any length of time up to the remainder of the inmate's court imposed sentence, under a solitary condition of: "I shall live and remain at liberty without violating any law or ordinance." The only violation of administrative control release is a violation of the law. Administrative control release has not been necessary since December 1994, due to adequate prison space.

Admissions

The supervision admission population consists of all offenders beginning supervision through specific court placement or by other assignment to a community-based program as a condition of prison release. For budget information related to community supervision, please see the Budget.

Offender Population

on June 30, 1996

For any specified date, the community supervision status population consists of all offenders actively under supervision and those on supervision caseloads but temporarily unavailable for direct supervision because of known and designated reasons, such as hospitalization, incarceration, etc.

Statistics on the status population are those for June 30, the final day of the fiscal year.

Releases

The community supervision release population consists of all offenders permanently removed from a specific term of supervision in the Florida Department of Corrections due to satisfaction of the sentence, return to another state, death, or revocation.

95-96 Annual Report
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