NCJ Number
116164
Date Published
1986
Length
22 pages
Annotation
Following a brief history of the community service order in Italy, this paper discusses the typology and model of community service in Italy, normative features of the order in the current Italian sentencing system, operational aspects of the order, and practical experiences with community service.
Abstract
Although community service was a sentencing option under the Italian Penal Code of 1889, it was rarely used, largely due to the absence of a definitive legal structure for its implementation. Despite its rare use, community service was retained as a sanction under the 1981 Penal Code. Community service, however, is currently restricted to the replacement of fines which cannot be enforced due to the offender's insolvency. The maximum number of community service hours to which an offender may be sentenced is, in the case of conversion of a single fine, 60 hours. If community service is replacing several, simultaneously imposed fines, 480 hours is the maximum that can be imposed. As an alternative to imprisonment, community service is unpaid and must be performed in the public interest. The judge determines when the community service is to begin, the kind of work, the place of work, the day of the week on which the service is to be performed, and the length of the sentence. The current implementation of community service is virtually nonexistent in Italy except in Veltlin, a large Alpine valley. The limited use of community service orders is due largely to its restriction to fine defaults and the delay in issuing the required executive conventions. Judges are also to blame for their failure to recognize and implement the values of the community order. 23-item bibliography.