NCJ Number
196335
Journal
International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology Volume: 46 Issue: 4 Dated: August 2002 Pages: 427-444
Date Published
August 2002
Length
18 pages
Annotation
Focusing on community service programs as they are employed worldwide, this article explores ways that community service may be used as an alternative to short-term imprisonment.
Abstract
This article argues that community service is an effective alternative to short-term imprisonment. Focusing on ways that various countries use community service programs, the authors argue that community service works well as both a stand-alone sentence or in conjunction with other sentencing. Following a brief discussion of the origins of community service programs in Europe, the Old Commonwealth, the United States, Asia, South America, and Africa, this article presents 11 “snapshots” of how community service is used around the world. In-depth discussions of the ways that Australia, Finland, Germany, Hungary, Ireland, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Scotland, the United States, Zimbabwe, and Hong Kong use community service programs point to several different effective uses. The authors argue that community service programs are best used as conditions of probation or parole, pretrial diversions, or as options to work off fines. Concluding, the authors cite two different models for how various countries run community service programs. Community service programs are either run by community service coordinators, independent from probation, or community service programs are subsumed under probation offices. Notes, references