NCJ Number
116162
Date Published
1986
Length
18 pages
Annotation
After describing the nature of community service orders in Poland, this paper presents court statistics on such orders for 1970-83.
Abstract
The Polish Penal Law does not provide for a sanction that corresponds fully to the community service order as it is used in Western European countries. The law does provide, however, for various kinds of "limited freedom" that require the offender to perform supervised work in the public interest. The length of the "limited freedom" sanction may vary from 3 months to 2 years, making it applicable to a large number of offenses of varying degrees of seriousness. There are three models of limited freedom: service of supervised unpaid work in the public interest between 20 and 50 hours per month, the shortening of wages between 10 percent and 25 percent and curtailing further advances in a professional career, and full-time work in a State-owned company. In most cases, limited freedom can be used as an alternative to imprisonment for up to 2 years or for any fine. Data on the use of limited freedom from 1970 to 1983 cover its use compared with other sentences and the proportion of different kinds of limited freedom used according to public and private prosecution. 3 tables, 26 notes.