Module in Non-Institutional Corrections 2022-2023 | Hermilinda P.

Orenze

CAGAYAN STATE UNIVERSITY

College of Criminal Justice Education

CA 2-NON –INSTITUTIONAL CORRECTIONS

Hermilinda P. Orenze, Ph.D

Topic 1: Concept of Community Based Correction

Objectives:
At the end of this topic, the students will be able to:
 Describe community based correction
 Discuss the different community-based correction programs
 Identify the different government agencies providing community-based
corrections.
 Appreciate the importance of community-based corrections as solution to jail
decongestion.
 Know the benefits of community –based correction

Lesson 1: Approaches to the Philippine Correctional System

1. The institutional based approach - the rehabilitation of offenders in jail approach.

The institutional based approaches have three levels and are manned by different
government agencies responsible for supervision and control of the numerous
institutional facilities nationwide which provide safekeeping and rehabilitation of the
inmates, namely;

a. The national prisons and penal farms under the department of Justice.
b. The provincial and sub-provincial jails under the provincial government; and
c. The City, municipal and District jails under the department of the DILG and local
government.
The bureau of corrections, headed by non-uniformed director, under the department of
justice, supervises and controls the national prisons and penal farms,

2. Non-Institutional Correction Community-Based Approach- it refers to correctional

activities that may take place within the community or the method of correcting
sentenced offenders without having to go to prison.

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 Module in Non-Institutional Corrections 2022-2023 | Hermilinda P. Orenze

Not all convicted offenders have to serve their sentence behind bars. Some of them are
allowed to stay in the community, subject to the conditions imposed by the court.

Lesson 2: Community Based Corrections and Community Based Correction Programs

What is community based-correction?

According to Alarid, L. F., (2015), the idea behind community correction programs is
that most offenders can be effectively held accountable for their crimes at the same time that they
fulfil legitimate living standards in the community. Most offenders do not pose an imminent
danger to themselves or to others and can therefore remain in community to maintain
relationships. Offering correctional options for offenders living in the community confers several
benefits to include: offenders continues to contribute toward individual and familial
responsibilities with legitimate employment and paying income tax; offenders living in the
community are more likely than prison-bound offenders to compensate victims through
restitution or pay back to the community through community service: and community correction
programs do not expose offenders to the subculture of violence that exist in many jails or prison.

Guerrero, B. B. (2018), stated in his book that, community-based corrections are non-
institutional based correction which are being considered as the best alternative for
imprisonment. It is a non-incarcerate system of correction. It is described as a method of
rehabilitating convicted felons without a need of placing them into jail or prison facilities. It
refers to any sanctions in which convicts serve all or a portion of their entire sentence in the
community. Community based corrections is a program which deal with supervised
rehabilitation of convicts within the community.
Meanwhile, Dolinen-Gahar, L., (2012), defined community-based correction as a
supervised program dealing with people who have been convicted or are facing conviction. It is a
non-incarceration system of correction.

In short way of defining community-based correction, offender/accused convicted of a

crime will not be incarcerated, instead, they would be released to the community with conditions
to follow. These conditions are prescribed by the proper authorities. Different community based
correction programs, different conditions.

Community-Based Correction Programs in the Philippines

The Community Based Treatment Programs are those programs that are intended to treat
criminal offenders within the free community as the alternatives to confinement. It includes all
correctional activities directly addressed to the offender and aimed at helping him to become a
law abiding citizen.

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Community-based correction programs began in the 1970s, 1980, and 1990s. The
programs offer alternatives to incarceration within the prison system. Many criminologists
believed a significant number of offenders did not need incarceration in high security prison
cells. Some inmates, who might otherwise have been ready to turn away from a life of crime,
instead became like the hardened criminals they associated with in prison.

In response, states, countries, and cities established local correctional facilities and
programs that became known as community based corrections. These facilities, located in
neighbourhoods, allowed offenders normal family relationship and friendships as well as
rehabilitation services such as counselling, instruction in basic living skills, how to apply for
jobs, and work training and placement.

Listed below are some of the community-based correction programs being practiced in the
Philippines.

1. Probation 8. Halfway-house
2. Parole 9. Restitution
3. Pardon 10. Diversion
4. Work releases 11. Mediation
5. Home confinement 12. Pre-trial release
6. Community service 13. Curfew
7. Intervention

Here are some examples of community service as a program under community based
correction.

In United States, the court can sentence a person to clean the whole community instead of
going to jail. Example, Jenny was being caught by the authorities violating the “no littering”
ordinance. The judge made her to clean the surroundings of the plaza while being supervised by
the police officers.

In our country, there was this ordinance passed by the barangay captain for those who sell
gawed, buwa, and apog. The ordinance prohibits the sale of momma in order to mitigate those
irresponsible chewers that spit anywhere, as for the penalty provided, those who sale momma
will be penalized by means of cleaning the pathway.

Lesson 3: Government agencies providing community-based corrections

Guerrero, B.B. (2018) enumerated in his book at least three agencies that provides and
supervise community-based correction programs in our country, this to include; Parole and
Probation Administration, Board of pardon and parole, and department of social welfare and
development.

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 Module in Non-Institutional Corrections 2022-2023 | Hermilinda P. Orenze

The Parole and Probation Administration (PPA) has the function of conducting
investigation of all cases in relation to parole, probation and pardon. Likewise, it is responsible
for the supervision of all parolees, probationers and conditional pardon grantees.

Board of Pardon and Parole (BPP) has the authority to grant parole as provided by law
and it is responsible for recommending the grant of pardon and executive clemency to the
president.

As for the Department of Social welfare and development, it is responsible in handling

the cases of child-in conflict with the law specifically on diversion and intervention program.

Lesson 4: Community-based corrections as solution to inmate’s decongestion

Here’s a Fact!
“The CIW-Mandaluyong was constructed with the capacity to hold a population of 2,453
but in June 2017, it holds 2,711 inmate population. That is 111% occupancy.”

“San Ramon Prison and Penal Farm have a capacity of 799 inmates, but in June 2017, it
holds 1,440 inmates, which means, it has an occupancy rate of 180%.”

Are you amazed or disgusted with the facts presented above? This is a reality. Jail and
prison congestion is real. What do you mean by that, jail or prison population is always way
above than the intended capacity? In this lesson, we will learn more about, how community
based correction helps in the decongestion of jail or prison.

It is proven that, congestion is one of the top problems of institutional correction.

Community-based correction provides an avenue to decongest jails or prisons. Let’s dissect the
OPLAN decongestion as provided in the notes of Esmeralda, R. M. (2015).

OPLAN Decongestion

In our country, jail congestion, particularly in big cities and municipalities, has been a
PERENNIAL PROBLEM ever since. This problem, to borrow a parallelism, is a sleeping giant.
Unfortunately, for jail administrators and personnel, the giant has taken up and is stretching its
enormous arms and legs. OPLAN DECONGESTION must be put in place to lay this giant back
to sleep.

OPLAN DECONGESTION was formalized through the execution of a memorandum of

agreement on February 12, 1993. Among the public attorney’s office, the parole and probation
administration, the Board of Pardons and Parole which are all under the Department of Justice,
and the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology which is under the Department of the Interior
and local government. The avowed PURPOSE of said agreement (MOA) was jail decongestion
through collective and cooperative efforts. Realizing that all helps available must be harnessed to
effectively combat overcrowding or congestion in jails, the said memorandum of agreement was
EXPANDED on August 17, 1993 with the inclusion of the National Prosecution service or
(NAPROS) as the fifth party thereto.

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True to its form, the MOA spreads up its intent through seminars. These offered
opportunities to officials and personnel of the tasked agencies to familiarize themselves with the
mechanics of the agreement, as well as to offer avenue to discuss various aspects of how jails are
to be decongested.

What’s wrong with congestion?

Maybe you are trying to find out why we need to address the congestion in jail or prison,
but let me get this straight, congestion in jail lead the failure of the attainment of objectives of
jail or prison. Congestion cause, health problems, behavioral problems, privacy problems,
kangaroo court creation, and many more. For example, you just got from your bible study and
you’re headed back to your congested cell (20 inmates in 15meters by 15 meters), do you think
you can concentrate to internalize what you learn, or you are thinking how you would go out
from that cell?
With the advent of different community-based programs, congestion as a problem in
jail/prison could be mitigated or lessen down that could help to for the prison/jail management to
attain their objectives.

Lesson 5: Benefits of Community-based corrections

Guerrero, B. B. (2018) enumerated at least five benefits of employing community-based

correction. These are:

A. Strengthen family ties through avoidance of broken family relationships

The treatment and rehabilitation of convicted offender is done outside the institution
facilities hence; family members will not suffer broken family due to imprisonment of one of its
member.

B. Prevention of influence contamination

Putting convinced felon to prison may expose him to hardened criminals who might
influence him to be a more hardened criminal than before.

C. Engagement of community involvement

Rehabilitation can be more effective with the help of the members of the community.

D. Assurance of individualized treatment approach

These programs provide individualize treatment program for the convicts which is if not
available, it is hard to attain in correctional institution.

E. It is more economical than institution-based correction

It would be more economical to perform non-institutional correction compared to
institutional correction on the part of the government.