ABSTRACT
The primary mission of the correctional system is to protect the public. Toward that end, prisons are a valuable solution for the estimated 15 to 20 percent of convicted offenders who require this level of control. But what about the remaining offenders for whom use of partial or total alternatives to imprisonment is more reasonable and less costly than incarceration? What is needed is a system that offers alternatives to incarceration for those who may benefit from them and who will present little, if any, danger to the public. This chapter includes a discussion of the development of parole and the indeterminate sentence, and an examination of sentencing approaches. It highlights changes in sentencing laws and practices that resulted in a restructuring of the sentencing process, and covers reform options and effects, determinate sentencing, sentencing guidelines, and three-strikes laws.
