• 41 • FLORIDA DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS 2001-02 ANNUAL REPORT Original Sentence Probation Probation is a court-ordered term of community supervision un- der specified conditions for a specific period of time that cannot exceed the maximum sentence for the offense. The probationer is required to abide by all conditions ordered by the court. Violation of these conditions may result in revocation by the Court and im- position of any sentence, which it might have imposed when origi- nally placing the offender on probation. The probationer is gener- ally required to pay the cost of supervision to the state of Florida, and may have additional conditions requiring payment of restitu- tion, court costs and fines, public service and various types of treat- ment. The probationer is usually required to visit his supervising officer in the local office at least once a month and depending on the probationer’s status, the officer may visit the offender at his/her home and/or place of employment. Administrative Probation Administrative Probation is a form of non-contact supervision in which an offender who represents a low risk of harm to the com- munity may, upon satisfactory completion of half the term of regu- lar probation, be placed on non-reporting status until expiration of the term of supervision. The department is authorized to collect an initial processing fee of up to $50 for the offender reduced to ad- ministrative probation. Periodic record checks are completed to ensure the offender has not violated the law. Drug Offender Probation Drug Offender Probation is an intensive form of supervision, which emphasizes treatment of drug offenders in accordance with indi- vidualized treatment plans. The program includes elements of sur- veillance and random drug testing. Contacts are made by correc- tional probation senior officers to ensure offenders remain drug free. The sentencing court reviews the offender’s progress on a regular basis. Sex Offender Probation Sex Offender Probation is designated for offenders placed on pro- bation whose crimes were committed on or after October 1, 1995, and who are placed under supervision for violation of chapter 794, Overview of Community Corrections Community Corrections is responsible for the supervision of over 153,000 offenders under community supervision annually. Com- prehensive community supervision comprises a multitude of hu- man resources, programs, automation and communication systems and specialized supervision approaches. The following is a brief overview of the types of supervision and programs that make up this area of the Florida Department of Corrections. s. 800.04, s. 826.071, or s. 847.0145. Per Florida Statute, the court must impose specific special conditions, as set forth in s. 948.03(5)(b), in addition to all other standard and special condi- tions imposed. Sex Offender Probation is designed to enhance the protection of the community and to require treatment/counseling for the offender. The offender is also required to submit two speci- mens of blood to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement to be registered with the DNA data bank. Community Control Community control is a form of intensive supervised house arrest in the community, including surveillance on weekends and holi- days, administered by officers with limited caseloads. It is an indi- vidualized program in which the freedom of the offender is re- stricted within the community, home or non-institutional residen- tial placement, and specified sanctions are imposed and enforced. As with probation, violation of any community control condition may result in revocation by the court and imposition of any sen- tence, which it might have imposed before placing the offender on community control supervision. Many of the offenders who are placed on community control are prison diversions. COMMUNITY S UPERVISION y b d e k c a r T s r e d n e f f O 2 0 0 2 e n u J g n i r o t i n o M c i n o r t c e l E / e p y T n o i s i v r e p u S e p y T e c i v e D x e S s r e d n e f f O s r e h t O l a t o T y c n e u q e r F o i d a R n o i t a b o r P 8 1 1 1 9 2 l o r t n o C y t i n u m m o C 6 2 2 0 2 8 2 2 n o s i r P t s o P 2 0 2 2 2 l a t o t b u S 6 4 3 3 2 9 7 2 m e t s y S e t i l l e t a S g n i n o i t i s o P l a b o l G n o i t a b o r P 9 4 5 2 4 7 l o r t n o C y t i n u m m o C 6 3 1 4 4 2 0 8 3 n o s i r P t s o P 9 3 6 6 5 0 1 l a t o t b u S 4 2 2 5 3 3 9 5 5 l a t o T 0 7 2 8 6 5 8 3 8
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• 41 •FLORIDA DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS 2001-02 ANNUAL REPORT
Original Sentence
ProbationProbation is a court-ordered term of community supervision un-der specified conditions for a specific period of time that cannotexceed the maximum sentence for the offense. The probationer isrequired to abide by all conditions ordered by the court. Violationof these conditions may result in revocation by the Court and im-position of any sentence, which it might have imposed when origi-nally placing the offender on probation. The probationer is gener-ally required to pay the cost of supervision to the state of Florida,and may have additional conditions requiring payment of restitu-tion, court costs and fines, public service and various types of treat-ment.
The probationer is usually required to visit his supervising officerin the local office at least once a month and depending on theprobationer’s status, the officer may visit the offender at his/herhome and/or place of employment.
Administrative ProbationAdministrative Probation is a form of non-contact supervision inwhich an offender who represents a low risk of harm to the com-munity may, upon satisfactory completion of half the term of regu-lar probation, be placed on non-reporting status until expiration ofthe term of supervision. The department is authorized to collect aninitial processing fee of up to $50 for the offender reduced to ad-ministrative probation. Periodic record checks are completed toensure the offender has not violated the law.
Drug Offender ProbationDrug Offender Probation is an intensive form of supervision, whichemphasizes treatment of drug offenders in accordance with indi-vidualized treatment plans. The program includes elements of sur-veillance and random drug testing. Contacts are made by correc-tional probation senior officers to ensure offenders remain drugfree. The sentencing court reviews the offender’s progress on a regularbasis.
Sex Offender ProbationSex Offender Probation is designated for offenders placed on pro-bation whose crimes were committed on or after October 1, 1995,and who are placed under supervision for violation of chapter 794,
Overview of CommunityCorrections
Community Corrections is responsible for the supervision of over153,000 offenders under community supervision annually. Com-prehensive community supervision comprises a multitude of hu-man resources, programs, automation and communication systemsand specialized supervision approaches. The following is a briefoverview of the types of supervision and programs that make upthis area of the Florida Department of Corrections.
s. 800.04, s. 826.071, or s. 847.0145. Per Florida Statute, the courtmust impose specific special conditions, as set forth in s.948.03(5)(b), in addition to all other standard and special condi-tions imposed. Sex Offender Probation is designed to enhance theprotection of the community and to require treatment/counselingfor the offender. The offender is also required to submit two speci-mens of blood to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement tobe registered with the DNA data bank.
Community ControlCommunity control is a form of intensive supervised house arrestin the community, including surveillance on weekends and holi-days, administered by officers with limited caseloads. It is an indi-vidualized program in which the freedom of the offender is re-stricted within the community, home or non-institutional residen-tial placement, and specified sanctions are imposed and enforced.As with probation, violation of any community control conditionmay result in revocation by the court and imposition of any sen-tence, which it might have imposed before placing the offender oncommunity control supervision. Many of the offenders who areplaced on community control are prison diversions.
COMMUNITY SUPERVISION
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• 42 •FLORIDA DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS 2001-02 ANNUAL REPORT
Community Control II(Electronic Monitoring)The use of electronic monitoring as an enhancement to commu-nity control continues to receive judicial approval. Radio frequency(RF) electronic monitoring is utilized in all 20 judicial circuits.This system electronically tethers offenders to their homes duringspecified periods of the day or night, with violations noted andinvestigated. This system, however, is unable to determine offend-ers’ whereabouts during approved absences from their residences.Global Positioning Satellite (GPS) system electronic monitoring,presently in use in 18 judicial circuits, continuously tracks offendermovements at home and in the community with uniquely definedinclusion and exclusion zones for each offender. Violations of thismonitoring system are immediately sent to an on-call officer in thecircuit for resolution. Additionally, the agency is pilot testing a sys-tem lower in cost than active GPS, but with a higher degree ofaccountability than traditional RF. The system is "passive" GPS,where the offender is tracked 24 hours a day, but this informationis reported only once a day instead of continuously. This addi-tional tool for offender supervision combines fiscal prudence withour commitment to public safety.
Community Control-Sex OffenderSex Offender Community Control is designated for offenders placedon probation whose crimes were committed on or after October 1,1997, and who are placed under supervision for violation of chap-ter 794 or s. 800.04, s. 827.071, or s. 847.0145. Per Florida Stat-ute, the Court must impose specific special conditions, as set forthin s. 948.03(5)(b) in addition to all other standard and special con-ditions imposed. Sex Offender Community Control is designed toenhance the protection of the community and to require treat-ment/counseling for the offender. The offender is also required tosubmit two specimens of blood to the Florida Department of LawEnforcement to be registered with the DNA data bank.
Pretrial Intervention (PTI)Any individual who is charged with any non-violent third degreefelony is eligible for the pretrial intervention program. Approval ofthe administrator and the consent of the victim, the state attorney,and the judge hearing the case are required in order to formallyaccept the offender into the program. If the offender completes theconditions of the program, which could include restitution to thevictim, counseling and/or community service, then the StateAttorney’s Office will not prosecute the case. Since the statute hasbeen changed to allow any non-violent third degree felony as crite-ria for entrance into the program, PTI caseloads have steadily in-creased, as has the risk level of these offenders.
Pretrial Intervention - Drug OffenderAny person charged with a felony of the second or third degree forpurchase or possession of a controlled substance under chapter 893,and who has not previously been convicted of a felony, nor beenadmitted to a pretrial program, is eligible for admission into a pre-trial substance abuse education and treatment intervention pro-gram approved by the chief judge of the circuit, for a period of not
less than one year. At the end of the pretrial intervention period,the court shall make a decision as to the disposition of the pendingcharges. The court shall determine, by written finding, whetherthe defendant has successfully completed the pretrial interventionprogram. Failure to successfully complete the program shall resultin the continued prosecution of the case by the State Attorney’sOffice.
Post-Prison Release
ParoleParole is a post-prison supervision program where eligible inmateshave the terms and conditions of parole set by the Florida ParoleCommission. The period of parole cannot exceed the balance ofthe offender’s original sentence. Under parole, the offender is to besupervised in the community under specific conditions. Parole su-pervision is provided by the Florida Department of Corrections.Although Florida no longer has parole except for those offenderssentenced for offenses committed prior to October 1, 1983,caseloads have increased. These increases are attributed to otherstate cases, which have transferred supervision to Florida. There arecurrently 2,155 parolees in Florida (763 Florida cases and 1,392other state cases.) On June 30, 2002 there were 5,306 inmates inthe Department of Corrections’ custody who were parole eligible.
Conditional ReleaseAn inmate sentenced to murder/manslaughter, sexual offenses, rob-bery or other violent personal crimes, and who has a previous com-mitment to a state or federal institution or has been convicted as aHabitual Offender or Sexual Predator, meets the criteria for condi-tional release. Upon reaching the release date with accrued gaintime,an inmate is placed on conditional release to serve up to the re-mainder of the length of sentence. A conditional release eligibleinmate often accrues less gaintime than other inmates due to thenature of the offense. Conditional release is not technically an earlyrelease mechanism as it merely provides for post-release supervi-sion for those considered serious offenders for up to the amount ofgaintime accrued.
Other Post-Prison ReleasesOther types of post-prison release supervision include control re-lease, administrative control release, provisional release, supervisedcommunity release, conditional pardons, county work release, andaddiction recovery supervision. These types are not used as often,in part, because of adequate numbers of prison beds.
COMMUNITY SUPERVISION
• 43 •FLORIDA DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS 2001-02 ANNUAL REPORT
Community Supervision Admissions on the Rise
Supervision AdmissionsFY 1992-93 to FY 2001-02
Supervision admissions refer to the number of offendersbeginning a new period of community supervision bythe Department of Corrections. This may be a result ofeither a new offense or a revocation of a previous super-vision period. It does not include offenders already onsupervision who receive an additional sentence for a dif-ferent offense than the one that initially placed them onsupervision.
Supervision sentences include:
■ an original sentence by the court to probation,community control or a pretrial interventionprogram, or
■ the supervision portion of a "split" sentence –prison followed by community control or proba-tion, or
■ assignment to supervision as a condition of prisonrelease, or
■ offenders from other states that Florida supervisesthrough Interstate Compact agreements.
In this report, fiscal years run from July 1 to June 30.The following tables and charts describe offenders ad-mitted to supervision from July 1, 2001 to June 30, 2002.Other years are sometimes featured to illustrate trends.For example, as the table below illustrates, communitysupervision admissions declined in FY 1999-00 and againin FY 2000-01, but increased in FY 2001-02.
• 44 •FLORIDA DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS 2001-02 ANNUAL REPORT
Community Supervision Admissions in FY 2001-02Type of Offense
Supervision AdmissionsOver Five Years
* One of the following conditions must occur for a crime to be defined as violent under this definition: actual physical harm or threat of physical harm, or areasonable probability existed that individual criminal acts could have resulted in unintended physical harm or the threat of physical harm.
Data Unavailable: 359 * Sentence lengths of 50 years or longer and life are coded as 50 years for calculations of averages.
• 45 •FLORIDA DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS 2001-02 ANNUAL REPORT
■ The majority of offenders serving an originalsentence were admitted to community supervisionin FY 2001-02 for felony probation (56,303 or61.2%), community control , with or withoutelectronic monitoring, (12,535 or 13.6%) andpretrial intervention (8,915 or 9.7%).
■ Post-prison release supervision accounted for onlyabout 5.4% (5,259) of the new admissions tosupervision in FY 2001-02, with the majority ofthose being offenders on conditional release (4,452or 4.6%).
More than Half of those on Community Supervision Admitted to Felony Probation
• 46 •FLORIDA DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS 2001-02 ANNUAL REPORT
Offenders on community supervision are generally considered Youthful Offenders (YO’s)if they are under the age of24. Youthful Offenders are often assigned to Correctional Probation Senior Officers (CPSO's) because supervisingYO’s is generally more difficult than supervising older offenders and requires more experience on the part of CPSOsto address the broader range of problems that YO’s present. For example, YO’s are often lacking in job skills and havemore education and substance abuse problems than other offenders, requiring more contact by CPSO’s with schoolofficials, counselors, and family members than the average offender. Over one-third of those admitted to communitysupervision in FY 2001-02 were under the age of 24.
Over one-third Offenders Admitted to Community Supervisionin FY 2001-02 Were Considered Youthful Offenders (Under 24)
Admissions of Offenders Under Age 24FY 1996-97 to FY 2001-02
• 47 •FLORIDA DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS 2001-02 ANNUAL REPORT
■ About 10% of offenders admitted to communitysupervision in FY 2001-02 were 17 years old oryounger and over 33% were less than 24 years old.
■ Pretrial intervention cases have the lowest averageage, while post-prison release cases have the highestaverage age.
■ Those sentenced for robbery or burglary offenseshave the youngest average age.
Average Age of Offenders Admittedto Community Supervision is 32.1
■ Over the last seven years, the average age of commu-nity supervision offenders has changed very little(31.0 in FY 1995-96 to 32.1 in FY 2001-02).
■ In the last seven years, the average age of bothwomen and men admitted to community supervi-sion has increased by about one year, from 31.5 to32.0 for men and 31.0 to 32.0 for women.
• 48 •FLORIDA DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS 2001-02 ANNUAL REPORT
This table represents the 67 counties in Florida, along with “other state” cases accepted under the Interstate CompactAgreement. The county of conviction for the primary offense, shown here, may not be the same as the county wherethe offender is ultimately supervised.
• 49 •FLORIDA DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS 2001-02 ANNUAL REPORT
Felony cases are processed through judicial circuits. A circuit can consist of one large county (Circuit 11: Miami-Dade) or several smaller counties (Circuit 3: Columbia, Dixie, Hamilton, Lafayette, Madison, Suwannee and Taylorcounties). This table shows the circuit in which the offenders were sentenced for their most serious offense.
• 50 •FLORIDA DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS 2001-02 ANNUAL REPORT
Felony class for the primary offense is the same even when offenders were convicted of attempts, which explains whysome capital and life felony cases are on supervision rather than in prison. Others are offenders who served prisonsentences followed by a period of supervision such as parole or conditional release.
■ The largest category of offenders were admitted forproperty offenses (34.2%).
■ The largest single offense type for which the mostoffenders were admitted to supervision in FY 2001-02 is drug possession (20,838 or 21.5%).
■ Property crimes such as burglary, theft, forgery andfraud accounted for over one-third of all supervisionadmissions.
The primary offense is the most serious crime for which the offender was admitted to supervision, based on thestatutory degree of the crime. Offenders may also be serving sentences concurrently (at the same time) for otheroffenses. The offender may have been convicted as an accessory, or for conspiracy or an attempt, rather than as aprincipal for this offense.
■ Murder/manslaughter, sex offenses, robbery andother violent personal offenses accounted for lessthan a quarter of all supervision admissions(21.0%).
■ The "other" category includes DUI without injury,traffic and other non-violent offenses, and consti-tutes only 10.3% of all supervision offenders in FY2001-02.
Most Offenders on Community Supervision Servingfor Drug or Property Crimes
• 53 •FLORIDA DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS 2001-02 ANNUAL REPORT
■ The majority (68.0%) of those admitted to commu-nity supervision in FY 2001-02 are serving sen-tences of two years or less.
■ The average sentence length for all those admittedto community supervision in FY 2001-02 is 2.4years, compared to 2.5 years in FY 1995-96.
■ Those admitted to parole in FY 2001-02 are servingan average sentence length of 8.3 years while thoseon pretrial intervention serve an average of 1.3 years.
Average Sentence Length for Community SupervisionAdmissions is Two Years
■ The average sentence length for parole has increasedabout six months over the last six years. In FY 1995-96, the average sentence length for those admittedto parole was 7.2 years, compared to 8.3 years thisfiscal year.
■ Over the past six years, the average sentence lengthsof male and female community supervision admis-sions have remained similar. In FY 2001-02 maleoffenders were sentenced to an average of 2.4 yearsand women to 2.2 years, while six years ago menwere sentenced to 2.5 years and women 2.3 years.
* GT = greater than and LE = less than or equal to**Sentence lengths of 50 years or longer, and life are coded as 50 years for calculations of averages.
• 54 •FLORIDA DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS 2001-02 ANNUAL REPORT
Total Prior Commitments by Type of SupervisionSupervision Admissions for FY 2001-02
Probation: 59,706 admissionsMore than half (59.4%) of those admitted to commu-nity supervision in FY 2001-02 and placed on felonyprobation had no prior commitments to either prison orsupervision.
Drug Offender Probation:10,869 admissions
Of those admitted to Drug Offender probation in FY2001-02, most had prior supervision commitments only(42.1%), followed by no prior commitments (36.8%).
Community Control: 12,535 admissionsOver half (55.1%) of the offenders admitted to commu-nity supervision in FY 2001-02 and placed on commu-nity control had prior commitments to supervision only.
COMMUNITY SUPERVISION/ADMISSIONS
Prior Prison Only (3.4%)
Both Prior Prison and Supervision (12.5%)
Prior Supervision Only (24.7%)
No Prior Commitments (59.4%)Prior Prison Only (1.2%)
Both Prior Prison and Supervision (19.9%)
Prior Supervision Only (42.1%)
No Prior Commitments (36.8%)
Prior Prison Only (2.0%)
Both Prior Prison and Supervision (18.8%)
Prior Supervision Only (55.1%)
No Prior Commitments (24.1%)
• 55 •FLORIDA DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS 2001-02 ANNUAL REPORT
The Public Safety Information Act (PSIA), which be-came law on October 1, 1997, broadened public accessto the records of sexual predators and sex offenders. Anoffender can be designated a sexual predator if he or shecommits certain statutorily defined sex crimes that arefirst degree felonies or greater, or if he or she commitstwo or more second-degree or greater felony sex offenseswithin 10 years. In either case, the offense had to havebeen committed on or after October 1, 1993. An of-fender can be designated a sex offender if he or she hasbeen convicted of certain sex crimes listed in Florida Stat-ute 794, regardless of the date of offense. Both sexualpredators and sex offenders are subject to registration andcommunity notification. It should be noted that someof the sex offenders on supervision previously served stateprison time for their offenses.
Sex offenders and sexual predators are supervised by pro-bation officers with specialized training. Most of theseoffenders are subject to special conditions of supervisionand they are supervised at a higher level than regular pro-bation offenders. Some of these offenders are also sub-ject to statutorily defined specific conditions of sex of-fender probation or sex offender community control.Some examples of special conditions may include offend-ers not being allowed to reside within 1,000 feet of aschool, playground or daycare center, or offenders beingrequired to submit to DNA testing, sex offender treat-ment, or counseling.
The table below shows that in FY 2001-02, more thanone-fifth (20.3%) of all sexual predators and offendersadmitted to community supervision were sentenced fromjudicial circuits 11 (Miami – 10.7%) or 4 (Jacksonville –9.6%).
Probation Officers Who Supervise Sex Offenders andPredators Have Specialized Training
