Alternative sentencing is a punishment for nonviolent first-time offenders that involves community service and rehabilitation instead of incarceration or probation. It is cost-effective and provides a middle ground between confinement and leniency. Opponents argue that it is a soft option and unsafe.
Alternative sentencing is a form of criminal punishment that differs from a traditional sentence. Instead of being incarcerated or placed on probation, a convicted felon is often given community service, along with rehabilitation or therapy, as punishment. Alternative sentencing is often considered for first-time nonviolent offenders.
Proponents of alternative sentencing argue that with prisons and jails overcrowded, it doesn’t make sense to incarcerate all criminals. Alternative sentencing provides a more cost-effective way to address prison overcrowding than prison capacity expansion. Jailing criminals can be very costly, and alternative punishments for non-violent offenders are more cost-effective and do not compromise public safety.
Others argue that alternative sentencing is a more just punishment for many criminals. For many first-time offenders, the confinement may be too severe and the probation too lenient. Alternative sentences allow for a middle ground and create a continuum of punishments that respond to a range of crimes. For this reason, alternative sentences are sometimes called intermediate or medium-range penalties.
Proponents of alternative sentencing also argue that these options benefit society and are therefore more beneficial to the community at large than punishment for its own sake. Alternative sentencing can give a convict a change to be productive as a member of a community by providing a lesson in acceptable behavior. In some cases, it not only saves the cost of jailing the offender, but also the cost of paying a worker.
Sometimes, alternative sentences are designed as a specific response to the crime. For example, a drunk driver may be instructed to talk to schoolchildren about the dangers of drink driving, or a convicted person with a law degree may be required to do pro bono legal work. Other times, the offender may be allowed to choose their own community service job, as long as it is documented by a reputable agency. It is also common for offenders to attend drug or alcohol counseling or rehabilitation as part of an alternative sentence if a judge deems it necessary.
Opponents of alternative sentencing argue that intermediate penalties are a “soft option” in response to criminal action and are not sufficient punishment. Others fear that placing convicted criminals into the community is unsafe. Additionally, setting up an alternative sentencing program takes time and money that many communities do not find warranted.
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