Alternatives to incarceration refer to any punishment for crime, which does not involve sending an offender to prison for a jail term (Joseph and Wesley 15). Such alternatives to incarceration include parole, probation, fines or community service. Having such alternatives to incarceration gives judges a wide range of sentencing options to judges. They also help to reduce congestion in state correctional facilities. Mostly these options are awarded to the less violent offenders, especially those that have been accused of dealing with petty crime or selling less harmful drugs and on a small scale. This paper will look into how and why community service has been satisfactory as an alternative to incarceration.
Community service, as an alternative to incarceration, denotes a situation where an offender is ordered to perform unpaid work on behalf of the community. The aspect serves to benefit the community without incurring additional cost (Joseph and Wesley 72). Awarding of such a form of the sentence depends on the availability of work to be done by the offender and the suitability of the offender to perform such work. Offenders that qualify for community service as an alternative to incarceration must be 16 years old or older (Joseph and Wesley 82). In addition, the severity of the offence in perspective contributes to the usage of the form of punishment. For one, violent offenders are not availed the option of substituting their violent crimes with ‘easy’ let off. Community service benefits the government, the society, voluntary groups and the individual.
Community service has proved to be a successful form of alternative to incarceration, mainly due to the ease of its administration and the benefits it has to the government, the community and the victim at large. To start with, Community Service is cheaper to administer to the state as compared to a jail term. This, therefore, helps the government to save on the costs of correctional facilities. Such collected monies can be diverted into other programs for the improvement of the state economy. Among other economic benefits of community service as an alternative to incarceration is that it allows offenders to remain employed. Ensuring that offenders remain employed makes them independent instead of relying on government or family support. Another reason that has enabled community service as a form of punishment for a crime to be successful is that it helps offenders to experience the outside world and hence can evade isolation in prisons. Such external experience and interaction contribute to reducing chances of stress and depression. Therefore, community service has proved to be a better way of reforming an individual than incarceration and especially for the petty, nonviolent offenders (Forgas, Joel, and William 206).
The ease of combining community service with other forms of correction has made it a preferred mode of punishment for the judiciary, the offender and even from the community. For example, while on community service it is easy for an offender to attend seminars or classes on the dangers of a criminal life and on the benefits of being a good citizen. Offenders on community service can also receive mentorship from reformed criminals while carrying out their community service. Such interaction with past offenders acts as motivation and testimony that someone can change from a life of crime to that of being a good citizen (Cole and Christopher 89).
Community service enables offenders to stay at home and take care of children and family. This ensures children are brought up well and mentored against crime by an offender who has faced the law and who knows why obeying the law is important for one's freedom. Being a more liberal and freer form of persuading criminals to reform, community service has long-lasting behavior change effects on the offender. When a decision is out of self-will, it stands a chance to last longer (Forgas, Joel, and William 36). It also acts as a more accepted form of punishment, especially for the lesser offenders who would view incarceration as brutal and savage. Such petty criminals would be willing to reform to avoid being sent to prison in case they are found guilty again.
The approach has proven an effective alternative to incarceration as the community in which offenders work is freer to help and guide such offenders on community service. The underlying facet is the community’s view of the ability to rehabilitate the individual in question. The aspect is in comparison to how the community receives released prisoners. They view them with distrust and as a threat to the society after they are released. This is because the community sees community service as a more friendly way for the offenders to interact with the society (Cole and Christopher 89). Community service also acts as an excellent point of interaction between the government, political policies, and the community.
Another reason that makes community service a successful alternative to incarceration is that it is a flexible form of punishment. The approach is a correction method that grows an individual wholly, as opposed to the incarceration. The latter is often viewed as a more forceful approach as opposed to a humane procedure. Beyond, community service ensures a smooth transition into the society after the sentence period than if the offender was imprisoned.
Works Cited
Cole, George F, and Christopher E. Smith. The American System of Criminal Justice. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Cengage, 2010. Print
Forgas, Joseph P, Joel Cooper, and William D. Crano. The Psychology of Attitudes and Attitude Change. New York, Psychology Press, 2010. Print
Joseph, Janelle A, and Wesley E. A. Crichlow. Alternative Offender Rehabilitation and Social Justice: Arts and physical engagement in criminal justice and community settings. New York, NY: Palgrave MacMillan, 2015. Print
