948.10 Community control programs. - Florida Statutes

948.10 Community control programs.

   (1) The Department of Corrections shall develop and administer a community control program. This complementary program shall be rigidly structured and designed to accommodate offenders who, in the absence of such a program, would have been incarcerated. The program shall focus on the provision of sanctions and consequences which are commensurate with the seriousness of the crime. The program shall offer the courts and the Parole Commission an alternative, community-based method to punish an offender in lieu of incarceration when the offender is a member of one of the following target groups:

   (a) Probation violators charged with technical violations or misdemeanor violations.

   (b) Parole violators charged with technical violations or misdemeanor violations.

   (c) Individuals found guilty of felonies, who, due to their criminal backgrounds or the seriousness of the offenses, would not be placed on regular probation.

   (2) The department shall commit not less than 10 percent of the parole and probation field staff and supporting resources to the operation of the community control program. Caseloads should be restricted to a maximum of 25 cases per officer in order to ensure an adequate level of staffing. Community control is an individualized program in which the offender is restricted to noninstitutional quarters or restricted to his or her own residence subject to an authorized level of limited freedom.

   (3) Procedures governing violations of community control shall be the same as those described in s. 948.06 with respect to probation.

   (4) Upon completion of the sanctions imposed in the community control plan before the expiration of the term ordered by the court, the department may petition the court to discharge the offender from community control supervision or to return the offender to a program of regular probation supervision. In considering the petition, the court should recognize the limited staff resources committed to the community control program, the purpose of the program, and the offender’s successful compliance with the conditions set forth in the order of the court.

   (5) In its annual report to the Governor, the President of the Senate, and the Speaker of the House of Representatives under s. 20.315(5), the department shall include a detailed analysis of the community control program and the department’s specific efforts to protect the public from offenders placed on community control. The analysis must include, but need not be limited to, specific information on the department’s ability to meet minimum officer-to-offender contact standards, the number of crimes committed by offenders on community control, and the level of community supervision provided.

History. ss. 12, 13, 21, ch. 83-131; s. 77, ch. 85-62; s. 4, ch. 87-211; ss. 62, 69, ch. 88-122; s. 18, ch. 90-337; s. 15, ch. 91-225; ss. 1, 16, ch. 91-280; s. 14, ch. 93-227; s. 1690, ch. 97-102; s. 6, ch. 97-239; s. 6, ch. 2001-209; s. 3, ch. 2003-142; ss. 3, 6, 7, 30, ch. 2004-373; s. 7, ch. 2007-2; s. 6, ch. 2008-250.

Note. Subsection (2) former s. 948.01(10); subsection (9) former s. 948.01(9); subsection (10) former s. 948.01(5).