NCJ Number
157275
Date Published
1995
Length
4 pages
Annotation
A consortium of organizations concerned with corrections issues in Great Britain concludes that the changes proposed by the British government in its March 1995 Green Paper called Strengthening Punishment in the Community would do nothing to reduce recidivism, would confuse rather than clarify the framework for community sentencing, and are likely to increase the use of imprisonment.
Abstract
The Green Paper identifies the three main purposes of community punishment as restriction of liberty, reparation, and the prevention of reoffending. The consortium agrees with these goals but opposes removal of the statutory acknowledgment that one of the purposes of a probation order is offender rehabilitation. The consortium recommends several actions to improve the effectiveness of community supervision, based on research revealing that some types of community supervision can reduce reconviction rates by 2 to 50 percent. These include programs that confront offending behavior and attitudes, teach offenders to restrain aggression and impulsive behavior, and provide them with skills training and employment. However, the availability of such programs varies. Such programs would do far more to reduce crime than would changing the names of sentences or increasing the amount of detail in court orders.