Alternatives to prison

Question 1

Alternative punishments

Answer 1

Financial fines, community payback orders, home detention curfews

Question 2

Alternative punishments: financial fines

Answer 2

Two types of fine: compensation to the victim and court fines (court fines are for retribution, compensation to the victim is to pay for any damages they caused)

Question 3

Alternative punishments example: financial fines

Answer 3

Malina Rush was fined £1000 by Glasgow Sherrif Court because she accessed online informationn while serving as a juror

Question 4

Alternative punishments: community payback orders

Answer 4

Sentence where offenders complete between 80 and 300 hours of unpaid work for the community, perpetrator remains integrated into society which reduces reoffending

Question 5

Alternative punishment example: community payback orders

Answer 5

In 2023, Daniel Hooton was sentenced to a CPO with two-years supervision after being found guilty of sexual assault

Question 6

Alternative punishment: home detention curfew

Answer 6

A way of monitoring prisoners and enforcing curfews, so offenders complete a custodial sentence in the community, allow offenders to maintain contact with their community

Question 7

Alternative punishment example: home detention curfew

Answer 7

Kaeleb Thomas was placed on a 6-month curfew for sexual assault in 2021

Question 8

Effectiveness of alternative punishments

Answer 8

cost-effective, offer rehabilitation, prevent overcrowding

Question 9

Effective: cost effective

Answer 9

Prisons must pay for shelter, food and other necessities; alternatives cost much less with electronic tagging costing less than a two-month sentence

Question 10

Effective example: cost-effective

Answer 10

Imprisoning someone costs approx £40,000 per annum while electronic tagging costs £2000 on average

Question 11

Effective: offer rehabilitation

Answer 11

Offenders who face alternative punishments like HDC are still integrated into society, where the can engage with community and access support services like counselling

Question 12

Effective example: offer rehabilitation

Answer 12

In 2019, the government increased the maximum time prisoners could spend on a HDC after seeing the benefits

Question 13

Effective: prevent overcrowding

Answer 13

Prisoners face a form of retribution without being out in prisons that are already overcrowded

Question 14

Effective example: prevent overcrowding

Answer 14

10 out of 16 prisons in Scotland are overcrowded

Question 15

Inffectiveness of alternative punishments

Answer 15

Perceived as “soft”, don’t deter criminals, compliance issues

Question 16

Ineffective: perceived as “soft”

Answer 16

Not a harsh enough form of retribution for some crimes, and are ineffective because prisoners don’t lose their freedom

Question 17

Ineffective example: perceived as “soft”

Answer 17

The case of Kaleb Thomas received criticism as he only received a six-month HDC for sexual assault

Question 18

Ineffective: Don’t deter criminals

Answer 18

Alternatives aren’t harsh enough, so prisoners are no deterred from reoffending and first-time offenders aren’t deterred

Question 19

Ineffective example: Michael O’Rourke continued his disruptive behaviour after receving an ASBO

Question 20

Ineffective: compliance issues

Answer 20

Hard to monitor offenders, don’t follow the terms of their sentence. Offenders with one-time punishments like a fine may not see their actions as harmful

Question 21

Ineffective example: compliance issues

Answer 21

30% of CPO recipients reoffended within 12 months in 2023