A third approach is to beef up probation departments so they can enforce court-ordered drug treatment and other "intermediate sanctions" short of prison.

The new rules, called "intermediate sanctions," give the I.R.S. more options.

She said her center had nearly completed a study of the state's prison population and the options for intermediate sanctions.

Criminal Justice: Reviewed the possibility of creating pilot programs to use intermediate sanctions for some non-violent offenders (Report 10-27, March 2010).

As a rule, most mental health courts use a variety of intermediate sanctions in response to noncompliance before ending a defendant's participation.

As the latest round of franchise negotiations got under way, Mr. Hanks argued that the 1970 franchises lacked intermediate sanctions that could force improvements.

For years experts have recognized the importance of more effective "intermediate sanctions" between freedom and incarceration.

Under the law, the Government also has an intermediate sanction called a "national interest certification."

Sentencing at the Midtown Court produced significantly more intermediate sanctions than the city's conventional arraignment court.

See the entry on intermediate sanctions for more detailed information.