According to Howard’s study conducted in the eighteenth century, the prisons were found to be no more effective than other intermediate sanctions such as community service. That’s why many of the stakeholders have reconsidered their imprisonment decisions to other alternatives.
It was found that community service has been one of the best punishment efforts for offenders, in lieu of imprisonment. However, community service sentences still become a debate among legal practitioners. In this post, we will show you how best the community service as a punishment effort is and what pros and cons regarding this sentence. Let’s check our post below!
Is the Community Service Best Punishment Effort in Lieu of Imprisonment?
According to some studies, community service is the best punishment in lieu of imprisonment. In this case, community service basically works as a punishment by depriving a person of their time and liberty.
An Australian Institute of Criminology study revealed that community service is far more economical than imprisonment, which is very expensive. Some studies have displayed that prison is not very effective in terms of deterring people from conducting new crimes.
In terms of rehabilitation, CSOs are frequently successful in assisting young offenders rehabilitate and integrate back into society. So far, community service programs will give young people the opportunity to build connections with business and people in their community.
According to one 2013 Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research Study (BOCSAR), there is a proof to suggest that community service is more effective than another kind of punishment. The study also compared the reoffending rates of offenders given good behaviour bonds to those given CSOs.
In fact, the offenders who are given CSOs were found to have a slightly lower rate of reoffending than people who are given a bond. However, more than six times the amount of offenders received bonds than CSOs.
Since 1994, the number of CSOs has been decreasing and the prevalence of good behaviour bonds has been rising. Don Weatherburn, the Director of BOSCAR believes that even though the difference in reoffending rates is small, the difference may be larger than what the figures suggest.
Why? That’s because not all offenders who reoffended are caught, as much crime goes undetected or unsolved. It means that the large differences in the rates of offending can only display a small percentage difference in the reoffending habits of offenders who received a CSO versus a good behaviour bond.
How Effective is Community Service?
Reportedly, in the United Kingdom, a young person who commits misdemeanour will be sentenced to prison, a fine or also community service. Of those punishments, most UK courts believe that community service is the best option in lieu of imprisonment.
There are some reasons why community service is a great option for offenders. Here are they:
- Community service frequently persuades a young person not to reoffend. Of course, working with old people or sick children will make young offenders realize that there are people who have harder lives than they do. Of course, community service could be an educational experience, while going to prison or paying a fine is totally not.
- Spending time in prison will result in young people meeting other criminals and learning more about the criminal world that may seduce them into committing more crimes. Aside from that, many of the prisoners take drugs and of course it is a very horrible example for young offenders.
- Paying a fine is not a suitable punishment for young people. Of course, they do not have much money themselves. So, it is often their parents who pay the fine for them.
What are the Disadvantages of Community Service?
According to some sources, community service is not an adequate punishment for the offenders, since community service is not harsh enough to educate and rehabilitate them compared to imprisonment. In this case, community service is only seen as a ticket to escape imprisonment. Many people stated that offences punishable with community service do not really apply together.
Another disadvantage of community service is that public safety could be compromised. It means that the offenders will be more easily able to continue criminal behaviour than if they were confined in prison or jail.
The resources have not kept pace with community corrections growth, with funding going to jails and prisons. Here are some disadvantages of community service:
- Not flexible once lit
- Need steady wind
- Need some wind in stand to dissipate heat
- Costs more due to interior & extended period
How Does the Court Determine Community Service Work for Offenders?
Basically, the kind of community service work that the court gives will depend on what is available in your community and what you are best suited to. In fact, Community Service Orders (CSOs) can be found for both State and Commonwealth criminal offences.
Under the Crimes (Sentencing and Procedure) Act, the offenders can involve up to 500 hours of work in the community. The CSOs are a relatively recent category of penalty that have grown in usage since their introduction in the 1960s.
It is known that the types of offences punishable by CSOs have expanded rapidly over the past two decades or so. In order to meet a CSO requirement, the offenders must have committed a crime which is punishable by a prison sentence and they must not be considered a risk to the community. They would also be given as punishment for unpaid fines.
Conclusion
Regardless of pros and cons of Community Service, the substitute for punishment is closer to the advantages, making an individual come up with another thought. Because of the fact that the most of the failure is definitely attributed to lack of funding and poor implementation.
Thus, it is very important to recommend that a more defined and clear way of implementation be created. In this case, the government must be engaged fully in the implementation of the program through funding, so it will facilitate the movements of the supervisors.
The point is, the judiciary needs to engage in a more defined way of applying this sentence. Further, it may curb the issue of its misuse.
A bookworm and researcher especially related to law and citizenship education. I spend time every day in front of the internet and the campus library.
