Alternatives to Incarceration

CPRR Alternatives to Incarceration programs provide a wide range of services and educational mechanisms to increase the probability for developing occupational duties, reducing and counseling of alcohol and substance intake, job training and enhancing the monitoring and progress of an offender.

Similar programs are provided for youth offenders in the guise of Alternative to Detention programs (ATDs).

These cost-effective measures are preferred by the criminal system as they provide a range of sanctions available to judges in lieu of incarceration or detention. In March 2007, New York State Governor Eliot Spitzer established the New York State Commission on Sentencing Reform to report preliminarily in September 2007 and issue a final report in March 2008 on sentencing practices, community supervision, and the use of alternatives to incarceration, including a review and evaluation of the extent to which education, job training and re-entry preparation programs can both facilitate the readiness of inmates to transition into the community, and reduce recidivism. [Executive Order No. 10]