Richland County Adult Probation/Court Services is comprised of a variety of community correction sanction programs that address specific offenses and offender populations. These sentencing sanction programs were established and updated by the Richland County Community Corrections Planning Board. The plan identifies crime issues and programmatic responses to reduce both the number of individuals in the local county jail and the state prison system.

This plan has been reviewed and updated to target the implementation of additional sanctions to be imposed by the Courts; in hopes of increasing both jail and prison diversion. New sanction programs implemented in 2006 were the expansion of the Reentry Court services for felons returning from prison with substance abuse histories and the full operation of the Community Alternative Center.

Richland County Community Corrections Board developed the following goals and objectives for 2006:

1. To increase community safety;
2. To assure victims of crimes their rights;
3. To lower the recidivism rate (prison diversion);
4. To provide non-violent offenders a better chance for rehabilitation; and
5. To reduce local jail crowding and cost of jail incarceration by local taxpayers.

In 2006, the Richland County Common Pleas Court Community Corrections Programs successfully and collectively diverted 688 offenders from prison and 660 offenders from the Richland Couty Jail. Despite a 37% increase in criminal cases through Common Pleas Court, Richland County's overall prison commitment rate of 1.2% did not increase during 2006. The following programs have contributed to achieving the Richland County Common Corrections Board objectives.

• Intensive Supervision Probation (ISP)
• Pretrial Release (PTR)
  
• Probation Intensive Collection
  
• Community Work Services
  
• Electronic Detention Program
• Victim Protection Program
• Drug Court/Substance Abuse Treatment Court
  
• Richland County Reentry Court
  
• The Richland County Adult Probation/Court Services Department County Budget
  
• Community Policing Probation/Parole Partnership
  
• Technology In Supervision
  
• Community Alternative Center