NCJ Number
231407
Date Published
September 2009
Length
16 pages
Annotation
This study compared reoffending rates of offenders in New South Wales (Australia) who received suspended sentences with reoffending rates among a matched control group that received full-time prison sentences.
Abstract
A suspended sentence involves a sentence of imprisonment that is suspended, allowing the offender to remain in the community under the condition that he/she not reoffend. Should reoffending occur, the prison sentence is imposed. The study found that offenders receiving a suspended sentence were not more likely to reoffend than those sentenced to full-time incarceration. For offenders with no prior prison sentences, there was no statistically significant difference in reoffending between offenders who received a suspended sentence and those who received a prison sentence; however, among offenders who had previously been imprisoned, those who received a full-time prison sentence reoffended substantially quicker than those who received a suspended sentence. The study thus concludes that there is no evidence that full-time imprisonment exerts a greater deterrent effect than a sentence of imprisonment that is suspended. For the purposes of this study, a cohort of offenders who received a suspended prison sentence (treatment group) or a full-time prison sentence (control group) in a New South Wales local district court between 2002 and 2004 was drawn from the New South Wales Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research reoffending database. All offenders had 3 years of potential follow-up time after their index court appearance. The measure of reoffending was free time to first offense resulting in a conviction. 4 tables, 5 figures, 5 notes, 66 references, and appended supplementary data