Alternative Sentencing

Alternative Sentencing

Alternative sentencing also termed as community sentencing refers to all the various ways in which the court of criminal justice uses to punish the respondent who has been imprisoned of perpetrating an offence instead of taking them to prison to serve jail term. The benefit of alternative sentencing to the society and the government is the fact that it reduces the overcrowding being experienced in the prison due to the increased cases of crimes in the country and also helps reduce the cost of sentence according to a study by the Vera Institute of Justice, the average taxpayer cost per inmate is $31,286, adding up to a total of $39 billion spent on prison sentencing. Therefore, this research paper will discuss the different forms of alternative sentence.

Probation

Probation is one of the alternative sentence to prison term. The convicted is given a second chance and are required to report to the officer in charge of probation within the scheduled time. Majority of the offenders who are granted probation, they are low-risk offenders and their crimes are minor. It comes with strict conditions and convicted behaviour is restricted since they do not have full freedom as compared to other citizens. In the event that the probationer breaches the condition of probation, the court is given the mandate to revoke the probation and the offender may be imprisoned to jail term

Work release

It is another form of alternative sentence which is a program that allows the convicted to attend school, to continue working and attend to other activities that have being approved by the court during the day and coming back to prison after working hours. The convicted will continue with work but under the residential work program where the salary will be deducted and go to the board until the end of probation period. The program will allow the offender to save money they can used once they service term comes to an end.

Restitution

The law of restitution is the law of restoration, for example, the offender maybe ordered to return stolen items, pay for the damages. Under this sentence, the offender is mandated by the law to pay a fine but this payment made goes to the victim of the crime as compared to the normal fine that goes to the court. The law of restitution applies to cases where the victims experienced financial loss as a result of the crime committed by the offender. The purpose of this alternative form of sentencing is to allow the victims recover their financial loss and stabilize them.

Fines

It is the amount of money that the court orders the offender to pay for the crime committed. The money to be paid is depended on the type of case or crime committed and most of the time the judges determines the fine. There are other circumstances where the fine is same for all offenders. For example; the government of Kenya signed into law some of the crimes or Offences with their fines such as traffic laws. In cases where the offence is more serious, the judge may decide to order the defendant to pay a fine and at the same time serve other punishment such as probation and community service since the defendant has previous criminal record.

Community service

Besides fines, community service is a program where the defendant or person found guilty are made to carry out some tasks. The law is set where they performed duties assigned for a number of hours a day for a week. The work is done in a public or community facility for example hospital, school, shop centre, or any other facility but it is unpaid. The work can be cleaning activities, litter collection or any other available task. Furthermore, hours worked are recorded by the assigned officer who is either area chief, or any other official assigned by the law courts. The defendant or report is given back to the judge or magistrate concerned. The court will direct what the defendant should and give out a schedule or a program to be followed strictly.

Rehabilitation program

Rehabilitation is common especially if the defendant shows a behaviour of person who is drug addict or has a mental challenge. The magistrate or judge can give orders for the defendant to undergo rehabilitation program or treatment instead of jailing him. Rehabilitation has a set of program that will help them heal because convicting them will not help but worsen their condition. Programs vary depending the condition of the defendant criminal. Some of the programs include psychiatric, alcohol, drug, education, and guiding and counselling programs.

Drivers who violate driving rules can be booked driving classes if incompetence was detected. The drivers program will help them avoid prosecution and help obey traffic rules and be reliable and competent drivers. Furthermore, there abuse deterrence programs that help those involved in domestic abuse. Domestic abusers can benefit this program if it is confirmed it is a mental problem which can be treated. Jail sentences may not be a solution to some defendants if well analysed because courts are to help defendants be good and law abiding citizens.

House arrest

House arrest is one of the alternative way of sentencing a defendant after found guilty after conviction. The defendant is monitored by the government by restricting them in their homes or any other member of the family or relative who is responsible. Monitoring methods are commonly found in pre-trial and probation release but they can also be used after conviction of the offender. The community where the defendant is arrested benefit because the systems have been installed for monitoring purposes. Rather than jailing the person, it is cheaper or cost effective especially to tax payers because the family will cater for the other expenses. House arrest is popular in countries where the government is trying to silence their competitors or the opposition.

In conclusion, Alternative sentencing is considered to be beneficial to both the offenders, society and the government because it helps reduce the cost of operation in the courts. To the society, this form of sentencing is beneficial to them since the offenders work for the society by doing jobs allocated to them by the court during their probation period. In addition, alternative sentencing allows the convicted to continue working or attend school thus providing for their families as they give back to the society hence protected their dignity. Another important role of alternative sentencing is the offenders are given a chance to learn new skills as they undertake their program under the compulsory community service, the skills learnt will assist them once they are done with their sentence.