NCJ Number
158197
Journal
British Journal of Criminology Volume: 35 Issue: 4 Dated: (Autumn 1995) Pages: 599-612
Date Published
1995
Length
14 pages
Annotation
This paper discusses data from a reconviction study of young offenders who attended an intensive probation program in West Yorkshire, England, during its first 12 months of operation, and compares their reoffense records with those of two samples of delinquents were received custodial sentences for similar offenses.
Abstract
The results showed that 73 percent of the juvenile delinquents who attended the intensive probation program were reconvicted within 24 months of discharge, a figure in line with national reconviction rates for juveniles sentenced to probation centers. This outcome may reflect the fact that those offenders sent to the intensive probation program were at high risk of reoffending. The study found no evidence that custodial sentencing was more effective in preventing or deterring reconviction once the initial incapacitating effects of custody were removed. However, custodial sentencing seemed to slow down reoffending in the short term, with approximately a 17 percent reduction in the first 12 months after sentence completion. 1 figure, 5 tables, 6 notes, and 25 notes