Community control programs; home confinement

(1) The Department of Corrections shall develop and administer a community control program. This program shall be rigidly structured and designed to accommodate offenders who, in the absence of such a program, would have been incarcerated in a jail or prison. The program shall focus on the provision of home confinement subject to an authorized level of limited freedom and special conditions that are commensurate with the seriousness of the crime. The program shall offer the courts and the Florida Commission on Offender Review an alternative, community-based method to punish an offender in lieu of incarceration and shall provide intensive supervision to closely monitor compliance with restrictions and special conditions, including, but not limited to, treatment or rehabilitative programs. The targeted population for this community control program includes: (a) Probation violators charged with technical violations or new violations of law. (b) Parole or conditional release violators charged with technical violations or new violations of law. (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) Caseloads should be restricted to a maximum of 30 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 a residential treatment facility or a nursing facility or restricted to his or her approved residence subject to an authorized level of limited freedom. (3) Procedures governing violations of community control are the same as those described in s. 948.06 with respect to probation. (4) Upon completion of the sanctions imposed and before the expiration of the community control term ordered by the court, the department may petition the court to terminate early the supervision of the offender from community control supervision or to return the offender to a program of regular probation supervision for the remainder of the term. 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.