A Comparative Study on Sino-U. S. Community Correction
中美"社区矫正"理论与实务比较研究

The United States is one of the countries which first put the community correction into practice,grounded on its solid legal system,its advanced technology,prevailing rule of law and ideas of civil rights.The system of community correction expresses the humanistic spirits in criminal penalty.According to statutory laws,American community correction is operated under the federal government and state governments.People engaged in community correction are parole and probation officials as well as social volunteers.Community correction is applied mainly to non-violent criminals,first offenders,juvenile delinquents,and aged criminals.Measures of correction include diversion,parole,probation,home confinement,RRC or halfway house,intermittent imprisonment,community service and electronic surveillance,etc.In 2002,China started to introduce the community correction system and practiced the socialization of executing punishment in order to solve the problems of over-jailed prisons and lighten the financial burdens.But Chinese government is still facing the following difficult problems in practicing community correction:deficiency of legislation,separation of legal body and working body,narrow scope of application,few correction measures,insufficient funds and workers for community correction,and so on.Through comparative studies on the Sino-U.S.community correction,the author suggests that Chinese government legislate statutes or rules for community correction,normalize the organs of decision-making,execution and supervision;enlarge the scope of application;practice more effective measures of correction;ensuring the financial allocation of community correction in the governmental annual budget;recruit more specialists and volunteers for the community correction troops.In this way,community correction will play its important role in establishing a harmonious society.