Mississippi § 47-7-38 - Graduated sanctions

§ 47-7-38. Graduated sanctions

The departmentshall have the authority to impose graduated sanctions as an alternativeto judicial modification or revocation, as provided in Sections 47-7-27 and 47-7-37, for offenders onprobation, parole, or post-release supervision who commit technicalviolations of the conditions of supervision as defined by Section 47-7-2. The commissionershall develop a standardized graduated sanctions system, which shallinclude a grid to guide field officers in determining the suitableresponse to a technical violation. The commissioner shall promulgaterules and regulations for the development and application of the systemof sanctions. Field officers shall be required to conform to the sanctiongrid developed. The system ofsanctions shall include a list of sanctions for the most common typesof violations. When determining the sanction to impose, the fieldofficer shall take into account the offender’s assessed risklevel, previous violations and sanctions, and severity of the currentand prior violations. Field officersshall notify the sentencing court when a probationer has committeda technical violation or the parole board when a parolee has committeda technical violation of the type of violation and the sanction imposed.When the technical violation is an arrest for a new criminal offense,the field officer shall notify the court within forty-eight (48) hoursof becoming aware of the arrest. The graduatedsanctions that the department may impose include, but shall not belimited to: Verbal warnings; Increased reporting; Increased drugand alcohol testing; Mandatory substanceabuse treatment; Loss of earned-dischargecredits; and Incarcerationin a county jail for no more than two (2) days. Incarceration as asanction shall not be used more than two (2) times per month for atotal period incarcerated of no more than four (4) days. The system shallalso define positive reinforcements that offenders will receive forcompliance with conditions of supervision. These positive reinforcementsshall include, but not limited to: Verbal recognition; Reduced reporting;and Credits for earneddischarge which shall be awarded pursuant to Section 47-7-40. The Departmentof Corrections shall provide semiannually to the Oversight Task Forcethe number and percentage of offenders who have one or more violationsduring the year, the average number of violations per offender duringthe year and the total and average number of incarceration sanctionsas defined in subsection (5) of this section imposed during the year.