§4104. Referral to State intermediate punishment program.

(a) Referral for evaluation.--

(1) Prior to imposing a sentence, the court may, upon motion of the Commonwealth, commit a defendant to the custody of the department for the purpose of evaluating whether the defendant would benefit from a drug offender treatment program and whether placement in the drug offender treatment program is appropriate.

(1.1) (i) The prosecuting attorney, in the prosecuting attorney's sole discretion, may advise the court that the Commonwealth has elected to waive the eligibility requirements of this chapter if the victim has been given notice of the prosecuting attorney's intent to waive the eligibility requirements and an opportunity to be heard on the issue.

(ii) The court, after considering victim input, may refuse to accept the prosecuting attorney's waiver of the eligibility requirements.

(2) Upon committing a defendant to the department, the court shall forward to the department:

(i) A summary of the offense for which the defendant has been convicted.

(ii) Information relating to the defendant's history of delinquency or criminality, including the information maintained by the court under 42 Pa.C.S. Ch. 63 (relating to juvenile matters), when available.

(iii) Information relating to the defendant's history of drug or alcohol abuse or addiction, when available.

(iv) A presentence investigation report, when available.

(v) Any other information the court deems relevant to assist the department with its assessment of the defendant.

(b) Assessment of addiction.--

(1) The department shall conduct an assessment of the addiction and other treatment needs of a defendant and determine whether the defendant would benefit from a drug offender treatment program. The assessment shall be conducted using a nationally recognized assessment instrument or an instrument that has been normed and validated on the department's inmate population by a recognized expert in such matters. The assessment instrument shall be administered by persons skilled in the treatment of drug and alcohol addiction and trained to conduct assessments. The assessments shall be reviewed and approved by a supervisor with at least three years of experience providing drug and alcohol counseling services.

(2) The department shall conduct risk and other assessments it deems appropriate and shall provide a report of its assessments to the court, the defendant, the attorney for the Commonwealth and the commission within 60 days of the court's commitment of the defendant to the custody of the department.

(c) Proposed drug offender treatment program.--If the department in its discretion believes a defendant would benefit from a drug offender treatment program and placement in the drug offender treatment program is appropriate, the department shall provide the court, the defendant, the attorney for the Commonwealth and the commission with a proposed drug offender treatment program detailing the type of treatment proposed.

(d) Prerequisites for commitment.--Upon receipt of a recommendation for placement in a drug offender treatment program from the department and agreement of the attorney for the Commonwealth, the court may sentence an eligible offender to a period of 24 months of State intermediate punishment if the court finds that:

(1) The eligible offender is likely to benefit from State intermediate punishment.

(2) Public safety would be enhanced by the eligible offender's participation in State intermediate punishment.

(3) Sentencing the eligible offender to State intermediate punishment would not depreciate the seriousness of the offense.

(e) Resentencing.--The department may make a written request to the sentencing court that an offender who is otherwise eligible but has not been referred for evaluation or originally sentenced to State intermediate punishment be sentenced to State intermediate punishment. The court may resentence the offender to State intermediate punishment if all of the following apply:

(1) The department has recommended placement in a drug offender treatment program.

(2) The attorney for the Commonwealth and the offender have agreed to the placement and modification of sentence.

(3) The court makes the findings set forth under subsection (d).

(4) The resentencing has occurred within 365 days of the date of the defendant's admission to the custody of the department.

(5) The court has otherwise complied with all other requirements for the imposition of sentence including victim notification under the act of November 24, 1998 (P.L.882, No.
111), known as the Crime Victims Act.

(f) Consecutive probation.--Nothing in this chapter shall prohibit the court from sentencing an eligible offender to a consecutive period of probation. The total duration of the sentence may not exceed the maximum term for which the eligible offender could otherwise be sentenced.

(g) Applicability and program limitations.--The court may not modify or alter the terms of the department's proposed individualized drug offender treatment plan without the agreement of the department and the attorney for the Commonwealth.

(h) Videoconferencing.--The department shall make videoconferencing facilities available to allow the court to conduct proceedings necessary under this section when the eligible offender has been committed to the custody of the department pursuant to subsection (b).

(i) Victims.--Victims of personal injury crimes shall be given the opportunity to receive notice of and to provide prior comment on any recommendation by the department under subsection (b) or (d) that the offender participate in the State Intermediate Punishment Program.

(j) Definitions.--As used in this section, the term "personal injury crime" shall be defined as in section 103 of the act of November 24, 1998 (P.L.882, No.111), known as the Crime Victims Act.

(July 5, 2012, P.L.1050, No.122, eff. 60 days)

Notation

2012 Amendment.  Act 122 amended subsecs. (a)(1) and (d) and added subsecs. (a)(1.1), (i) and (j).

Cross References.  Section 4104 is referred to in section 4105 of this title.