The Re-build For The Community Corrections System With Chinese Characteristics

With the socio-economic development and progress of humancivilization, people are continuing to pursue the reform and improvementof the penal system, and to try a more scientific and effective way todeal with, correct and reduce crime. Compared to the previous executionmode, Community Corrections, as a novel mode of penalty execution, nodoubt has more favorable conditions, and also is in line with people’s requirements. In early2002, the Ministry of Justice set up a ResearchGroup of the Community Corrections System, which was specialized tosummarize the study of domestic and foreign theories, systems and advancedexperience. It has submitted the research report to the State, which hasgot the high-level attention. From July2003, China began to issue thepilot project on Community Corrections in Beijing, Tianjin, Shanghai,Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Shandong provinces and municipalities. January2005was witnessed to expand the pilot project to18provinces and cities. Afterseveral years of continuous efforts and useful exploration, CommunityCorrections has developed from the conceptual level into practicaloperation level. During the pilot operation, the local governments haveput more emphasis on this project, and summarized some experience and practices. However, subject to various factors of economic, cultural andsocial development, it is found that the Community Corrections also facesome difficulties to be resolved. Combined with the actual situation ofChina’s Community Corrections,the author attempts to learn thetheoretical knowledge at home and abroad, to put forward some soundrecommendations and new initiatives, and to try the brand new re-buildfor the Community Corrections system with chinese characteristics, whichaims to make some useful exploration for our Community Corrections. Inaddition to the preface and conclusion, the main content is divided intofour parts. Part I: the concept of Community Corrections. It introducesthe concept and content of Community Corrections, and demonstratespreliminary analysis on the feasibility and necessity of its introduction.Part II: the analysis of some problems in the existing CommunityCorrections system. From the legislative level, the law enforcement level,the operational level, effect level and recognition levels, it analyzessome problems exposed in practice. Part III: successful experience ofCommunity Corrections at home and abroad. This section firstly describesthe three main models of the worldwide Community Corrections, and makesanalysis of these patterns’ characteristics and successful experience.Next, it lists three pilot areas in Shanghai, Beijing, Wuxi, and makescontrast and assessment. Part IV: the reflections on the construction ofCommunity Corrections with Chinese characteristics. This section aims tomake specific recommendations and opinions from four aspects of the valueproposition, the implementation subject, the evaluation system, and theimplementation institution, and through the re-building from theideological concept to the operation rules to unify the thinkings of state,government, and masses, to improve related Community Corrections system,and to establish and improve the implementation of Community Correctionssupporting mechanism, so as to make the entire Community Corrections with Chinese characteristics can orderly and large-scale carry out, caneffectively correct and transform some prisoners to reduce re-offending,which is to do more in-depth exploration and practice for the new era ofsocial management innovation. In the writing process, the author studieda large number of articles and writings of Community Corrections, madedepth site visiting of a prison in south of Jiangsu, and analyzed andcompared to the national pilot core modes of Beijing and Shanghai. Inaddition, the author discussed the mode of operation and effect from theearlier pilot—Yixing Fangyuan Help and Education Center, and understoodthe situation of Wuxi’s Community Corrections from the Wuxi MunicipalBureau of Justice. From all known aspects, it is known that the CcommunityCorrections implies four values like the value of humanity, impartiality,efficiency and democracy, and its intrinsic value is being accepted bythe government and the community. Meanwhile, rapid and healthydevelopment of the Community Corrections is undoubtedly the only way forChina to achieve modernization of criminal nomocracy, is the effectivemeans for improving the country of social control and governance capacity,and is a significant sign of upgrading of government’s public managementcapacity. The author believes that on the existing basis to promote theCommunity Corrections depth forward, it should start from aspects ofconcept updating, legislation perfecting, institution building,personnel training, and the theoretical research, with four "re-build"like value orientation, the implementation of the main body, evaluationsystem and the implementation of system as the starting point to enrichthe theoretical point of view. Combined with China’s actual situation,it should sum up to improve the ways and means of the specificimplementation, and strive to "touch the stone edge across the river.”For above reasons, related with the author’ s own decade ofaccumulation of public security work and the domestic and foreign scholars point of view, the author attempts to make some brief analysis and researchon how Community Corrections playing a better role in the actual situationin China, and on how foreign things serving in China, which is hoping tocontribute to the research enterprise of China’s Community Corrections.