Last month a group of corrections officials from the United States had an opportunity to make history. The Chinese government has embarked on a pilot program to develop community corrections programming and has asked the U.S., Great Britain and Australia for help.

Six corrections officials from the U.S., including academics and leaders in the field, participated in a conference last month to help Chinese officials understand the role and risks of community corrections.

With free markets and the loosening of military control in China, the country is starting to experience a rise in crime. The challenge for the country is to move from a strict, no parole system to one that allows release into the community for low-level offenders.

"China, until recently, has been a sort of a police state and has traditionally relied on a collective social control. It was either incarceration or the death penalty," said Ed Latessa, Professor of Criminal Justice at the University of Cincinnati - who participated in the conference. "Now, with progress and opportunity comes crime. It's the price we pay for freedom."

In 2003, the Chinese initiated a community corrections program with six pilot sites and now has authorization to expand to 18. Chinese corrections happens on the provincial and municipal level; these community corrections programs are identified on the provincial level.

In developing these programs, said conference participant George Keiser, Director of the Community Corrections Division for the National Institute of Corrections, the Chinese have articulated an interest in evidence-based practices and how to make that fit into their culture.

In China, parole is granted by a judge and there are no parole boards. And, just like in the states, judges are reluctant to grant parole. However, they do reduce sentences for good behavior.

"They believe in reform and rehabilitation, but they also believe in strict supervision and strict control," said Latessa.

China's Tradition

Traditionally, China has had lower crime rates than most countries; something Latessa says is a reflection of the authoritarian social structure in place.

"There are a couple of reasons why China has had lower crime rates," said Latessa. "Until recently, it was more a police state. When the state controls everything, there is less opportunity for illegal acts. Also, there were no weapons; nobody has guns except for the military and the police."

Because Chinese society has a history of strict state control, the development of a successful community corrections system may be impeded by their traditional approach to corrections, according to Latessa.

"In terms of their discussion there, they are really risk averse," said Latessa. "As they evolve, just as in this country, they need to be willing to take more chances about who they send to community corrections. If you only send people who are absolutely not going to get in trouble, then they probably don't need to go to community corrections to begin with." 

Latessa also says that China lacks trained human services professionals to counsel and oversee community corrections facilities. "Traditionally they use police in prisons and their [pilot] community corrections centers," he said. "Their questions were very basic like 'Who do you use?' They are going to have an issue with that."

Despite China's lack of experience with community corrections, Latessa said he was struck by how advanced China's prison system was. "We visited two prisons while we were there and they run classes, education programs, work programs," he said. "It was very clean, well-run, high security. We were impressed."

The advanced prison system reflects the state's desire to deal with the reality of incarceration and rehabilitation, according to Latessa. "The country is changing," he said. "Things are more open and there is a desire to deal with some of the crime problems that exist in a free society."

Pros and Cons

During the conference, which was organized by University of Maryland Professor Charles Welford, officials from the participating countries discussed further the favorable and unfavorable conditions for community corrections and how to overcome obstacles.

According to Keiser, the Chinese justice system does have some hurdles to the implementation of community corrections.

"There are provisions in Chinese law not to release people likely to commit new crimes. So, parole release [currently] are less than two percent, which explains why recidivism rates are less than one percent," Keiser said.

There are some potential bright spots, however.

Keiser believes that some of the values of Chinese culture support the notion of community corrections.

"The community is concerned about taking care of their own and family ties are important," he said.

Despite this analysis, Keiser said Chinese justice officials seem to be committed to the idea of making community corrections work in their country. They are interested in reforming the system and ensuring that communities are prepared to support those low-level offenders who are released by forming partnerships between public and private entities.

In addition, the Chinese government wants to make sure that the changes they make to the system are justified and contribute towards reform by creating a research base for the pilot programs.

"It sounded like it was a moral concern and it needed to be done," said Keiser.

Latessa agrees and senses that, in the end, the Chinese will take what they have learned from other countries and make a model that fits their needs.

"My sense is that China is doing things well. It is going to be a Chinese model when they are done, but I saw some of their prisons and think it's going to be a good program," he said.