What is CCP in Albuquerque, New Mexico? Can it get me out of jail?
The Community Custody Program (CCP) in New Mexico is an alternative to incarceration designed to promote community reintegration while still giving the jail a high level of supervision. It uses electronic monitoring and community-based supervision to allow eligible inmates to reside at home, maintain employment, and access treatment services. Participants must comply with strict rules, including no alcohol, firearms, or illegal drugs in their residence, and are subject to random drug tests and visits by CCP officers often called “trackers.’
Eligibility criteria exclude individuals with serious felony charges, sex offenses, or escape histories. Participants undergo screenings for risk assessment and compliance, and their residence must meet specific conditions. Services provided include job placement, vocational training, substance abuse education, and counseling.
Generally, violations are taken very seriously, and even minor infractions can land a participant back in jail extremely quickly. Unlike other programs like pre-trial supervision or probation where a violation can cause the participant to have to go to Court and address a judge, CCP gives the trackers the power to unceremoniously and decisively arrest participants who are thought to violate and bring them directly back to MDC.
CCP is a commitment and is generally a much more heavily supervised situation that pre-trial services or post probation terms. Importantly, the consequences of absconding while on CCP is itself a crime: Under New Mexico Statutes Section 30-22-8.1, “Escape from a community custody release program” is specifically defined as a criminal offense. The severity of the charge depends on why you were placed in CCP: If you were in CCP for a misdemeanor charge, escape is charged as a misdemeanor. If you were in CCP for a felony charge, escape is charged as a felony. This is a big contrast from pre-trial because while failing to show up to PTS supervision will very likely land you in jail, it at least on its own bring up a new charge!
While an inmate is on CCP, they are considered to be in custody. This fact is important because persons who are on CCP will earn credit for their sentence while in the program. CCP is therefore a great compromise between DA who may want you to serve time, and a defendant who is trying hard to keep a job, housing, contact with his family and avoid the terrible conditions at the jail. Even if CCP is an intense form of supervision, the fact that it earns jail credit while keeping you out of MDC makes it an extremely attractive option for many criminal defense clients.
