Alternatives to Incarceration

Question 1

What are examples of common alternatives to youth incarceration?

Answer 1

Probation, community services, restitution, fines

Question 2

What idea did Martinson put forth in response to custody in failing to reduce rates of reoffending & deterring crime?

Answer 2

Nothing Works - argued that no matter what you do, nothing impacts reoffending & recidivism;

Question 3

How did the “Nothing Works” philosophy initiate a catalyst for change in public policy?

Answer 3

○ Led to some conservative politicians and policy makers not to bother with efforts to rehabilitate offenders
- Rehabilitation viewed as a liberal agenda

○ Led to less programming in jails; few social workers, psychologists, etc.

○ Denunciation and deterrence were in fashion
- Sentence people to jail to denounce crimes

○ Led to higher rates of incarceration
- Incarceration used as a general deterrent - discourages others from offending

Question 4

When looking at recidivism & reoffending rates what 2 components must be considered?

Answer 4

Timeframe - how long after incarceration should we examine reoffending?

Seriousness of reoffending - was the offender caught for a minor act in comparison to previous act?

Question 5

what happened in terms of incarceration rates when the YOA replaced the JDA?

Answer 5

YOA led to more incarceration than JDA
more youth in custody for shorter sentences
set to deter & denounce crime

Question 6

What evidence did Garland present in suggesting that society’s approach to crime has become more punitive?

Answer 6

Gated communities - guard allows entry into community

Increased private security - home alarm systems; car alarms, GPS tracking; deters breaking & entry; crime prevention of environmental design

Zero tolerance policies in schools - express intolerance for deviancy; no flexibility & consideration of situational or mitigating factors; automatic suspensions & expulsions
§ Removes kids from the classroom - causes higher rates of deviance & increases drop-out rates

Three strikes legislation in some US states - lead to upsurge in federal prison pop.; 3 encounters w/ the law led to automatic jail time

Question 7

What is shock incarceration

Answer 7

Program that targeted deviant/at-risk youth in providing alternatives to incarceration via a therapeutic environment

Offered substance abuse programs, formal education/life-skill training

Promote reintegration into society

Based on the “military model” - strict regime given to participants

Question 8

According to research on Scared Straight Shock Incarceration, is the program effective at deterring youth crime?

Answer 8

• Program brought kids to a federal penitentiary - those who were deviant or who encountered CJS
  ○ deter kids from continuing w/ crime; showed them prison life
• Offered cheap, quick fix
  ○ Of 17 who attended, 16 were still ‘straight’ 3 years later
• James Finchenauer (1982) - evaluated efficacy of programs
  ○ Participants more likely to re-offend than Control Group
  Why? Labelling theory - may have internalized the deviant identity

Question 9

What was the goal of bootcamps in providing alternatives to incarceration?

Answer 9

• Youth seen as lacking discipline - boot camp corrected behaviour - military model
• Less restrictive than prison, but more severe than probation

○ Project Turnaround 1997 in Barrie, ON
Only boot camp in Canada

Issues:
□ Those who went to Boot Camps reoffended 33% in comparison to kids sent to traditional facilities (50%)

□ Results were not statistically significant - samples not big enough to imply causality (results could’ve happened by chance)