NCJ Number
178291
Journal
Corrections Management Quarterly Volume: 3 Issue: 3 Dated: Summer 1999 Pages: 37-42
Date Published
1999
Length
6 pages
Annotation
Although the successful implementation and operation of electronic house arrest (EHA) programs depend on community acceptance, research has explored conditions under which the public supports EHA as an alternative to incarceration but the research has failed to fully address what citizens believe are appropriate program characteristics and offender activities.
Abstract
To examine these issues, a survey of residents of Oneida County, New York, was conducted. Questionnaires were mailed to 1,000 households in June 1993, and 521 individuals (52 percent male, 48 percent female) responded. The questionnaire cover letter contained a brief example of an active EHA monitoring system, and respondents were asked to provide their perceptions of EHA. Respondents indicated a good EHA program has rules and regulations that reduce the possibility of recidivism and promote individual and societal safety. They emphasized the importance of establishing mechanisms to control offender behavior and indicated contacts between offenders and correctional officers and regular drug testing should occur. Respondents also said that an EHA program should structure the lives of offenders while they serve out their sentences in the community. Appropriate activities for offenders serving an EHA sentence were identified as working, attending school, meeting with a counselor, and attending church. The authors conclude that public support for EHA programs can be enhanced by stressing community and personal safety issues. 20 references and 2 tables