The Value of Non-custodial/community Sentences Over Imprisonment.

... Sentencing The Value of Non-custodial/community Sentences Over Imprisonment When we think of punishing criminals most of us have a visualisation of tall, barbed wire capped walls, imposing grey buildings and big steel gates. We may have an image of pool tables and televisions, day visits to local towns and even view gaol as a state funded criminals' college, a place where a minor criminal can learn the tricks and leave as a criminal heavy weight. Perhaps criminals themselves only see gaol as an annoyance and not a deterrent. But is it really a soft option? Would the passing of a community sentence provide a better form of punishment and would that be enough to satiate the angry masses, fed up with crime? To better understand the role of prisons and the part community sentencing plays in the punishment and rehabilitation of criminals, we need to look at each one on its own merits.

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