"Shock" probation : a cost analysis of the economic impact on correctional institutions in Ohio

Abstract

In July, 1965, the General Assembly of the State of Ohio passed a law providing for the early release of convicted felons from prison and returning them to their local commnunity on probation. All felons are eligible to make application for "shock" probation with the exception of those convicted of nonprobationary offenses. The incarceration of "shock" probationers in state correctional institutions however incurs many economic costs, i.e., the basic costs of support, the costs involved in processing the offender at the time of entry into the prison system, inmate wages, release money, and conceivably, the costs involved in the construction of a new correctional institution in order to accommodate the overpopulation of inmates. The overcrowded conditions may be attributable, at least in part, to the introduction of "shock" probationers to the prison system. The purpose of this study is to estimate the total cost of the "shock" probation program in Ohio, and to examine and compare alternatives with the present practice. A total of 712 men and women granted "shock" probation in the year 1973 comprised the population. The figures arrived at indicate that the "shock" probation program is known to have cost the State of Ohio approximately $862,549.97, but this figure represents direct costs only. An alternative to the present practice would be the incarceration of "shock" probationers in a local jail for this brief period of confinement. The per diem costs for maintaining an offender are less in a jail-type facility as compared to a state correctional institution. In addition, many of the dysfunctional aspects inherent in its present practice would be eliminated if "shock" probationers were housed in local jails.