NCJ Number
210134
Date Published
2004
Length
22 pages
Annotation
By drawing on theories of punishment and on views expressed in interviews and questionnaires by those who have a stake in criminal justice, this chapter attempts to clarify the framework for community penalties.
Abstract
Today, contemporary theorists favor a controversial hybrid approach in penal theory which combines the elements of both consequentialism and retributivism (or desert). This approach allows for community penalties to play a subordinate role in relation to custody. However, to achieve a more rounded understanding of community sanctions, there is a need to examine their theoretical underpinnings to seek a proper balance between their dual functions of being just punishments and reducing offending. A clearer framework would promote the development of community-based sanctions in policy and practice. In this chapter, the author attempts to clarify the framework for community penalties, drawing on theories of punishment in which communication is central, and on views expressed in interviews and questionnaires by people who might be seen to have a particular stake in criminal justice. Community penalties were clearly seen by research participants to have rich communicative potential. There is a case for giving community-based sanctions a central place in a sentencing framework which persuades offenders that the nature of their offenses is a public wrong and encourages responsibility and assists them to move forward in a positive, law-abiding way. Key principles for the development of communicative community penalties are presented. Tables, notes, and references