Alternatives to Prison Flashcards
What are the 4 main alternatives to prison?
- Financial penalty
- Home Detention Curfew
- Community Payback Order
- Anti-Social Behavioural Order
What is a financial penalty?
When offenders are ordered to pay a fine or compensation to a victim or to the CJS.
What is an example of when many individuals were issued with financial penalties?
During Covid-19 when there were lockdown restrictions in place
What is a Home Detention Curfew?
When someone may serve their sentence at home under certain curfew conditions - they may be placed on an electronic tag.
Who was placed on a HDC after being found to be carrying a knife?
James Wright
What is a Community Payback order?
When offenders are ordered to carry out up to 300 hours of unpaid work, paying back to the community make up for the crime that they have committed.
What is the name of the individual who was issued a 120 hour CPO by Edinburgh Sheriff Court?
Rufus McLean
What is an anti-social behaviour order?
A ban placed on the offender to stop a behaviour that negatively impacts society.
Who was issued an ASBO for refusing to stop playing Dolly Parton on repeat in Peterhead?
Michael O’rourke (remember he eventually broke this and was sentenced to 4 months)
Why does Scotland have such an invested interest in alternatives to prison?
Scotland has one of the highest rates of prison occupancy in Europe.
What are three reasons as to why alternatives to prison are more effective?
- Better avoids reoffending
- Cheaper than prison
- Reduce/prevent overcrowding
How can alternative to prisons help people not reoffend?
They often mean that the offender can keep their job and home and instead receive help for issues that they might have
Summarise Eric Lavender and why he was given an alternative to prison?
He was given a fine instead of prison for embezzling meaning that he kept his job and paid back the money that he stole from his victim.
How do non-custodial sentences save the government and tax payer money?
As they do not need not need to finance the different elements of keeping someone incarcerated such as food, clothing, prison officers, medicine …
It costs roughly £40,000 to keep someone in jail for a year but how much does running a HDC for a year cost?
£6,500 - roughly about £126 a week according to families outside
Overcrowding in prison is dangerous but why else is it an issue?
Many offenders say that they actually learn more crime inside jail.
What is the name of the individual who said that her time within the SPS meant she learned more about committing crimes than what she did about reformation?
Janine O’Neil
What are three reasons why people argue against the use of alternative to prison?
- They can easily be broken
- Offenders are still free to commit crime
- They are not tough enough
In what ways can a HDC be broken?
The tag can be broken and damaged or in some cases removed. Some people don’t follow the conditions of their curfew.
How is James Wright an example of HDC’s not being effective?
Whilst on a HDC he took the life of a father of 3 in Paisley.
How can people sentenced to a CPO still commit crime?
As their freedom has not been limited apart from when they have to carry out the community work.
Why do people argue that ASBOs are not tough enough?
As it does not physically remove people from society and they can choose to break the conditions of their ASBO and commit further crime. Some people took pride in their ASBO label.
Why is Michael O’Rourke an example of ASBOs not being tough enough?
He ignored it, kept playing Dolly Parton and ended up in prison.
