Penological Esperanto and Sentencing Parochialism: A Comparative Study of the Search for Non-Prison Punishments

This text is about sentencing policy and the search for non-prison forms of punishment. It reports the results of empirical studies undertaken in California, Finland and England on developments in community sentences. The trends in sentencing practice and policy with respect to the use of community sentences with adults are outlined, and the changes in recent years and the response to them provide the basis for theoretical comments about the cultural basis of law and the implications for a comparative analysis of criminal justice. The book describes the use of imprisonment and community sentences and the shifts in policy in these three jurisdictions that aimed to make greater use of community sanctions. Policy and legislative changes indicated a growing official acceptance of the need to provide community sentences in the light of the cost and consequences of imprisonment. The book looks at the reasons behind these developments, the responses to them, and to the subsequent implications for sentencing policy. The views of justice officials were sought about the purpose, appropriateness and credibility of community sentences and to discover what forms of non-custodial imprisonment would be acceptable to meet the policy-directed ambition to make less use of incarceration. The research focused exclusively on the development of community sentences with respect to adult offenders. The logic of using focus groups as a tool for research and consultation is explained and the methodology described.