The privatisation of non-custodial measures: an uneasy balance between legitimacy and immediacy

<p>All developed countries with few exceptions are facing problems related to prison overpopulation and non-custodial measures are marketed as the solution. The public&rsquo;s involvement and endorsement of non-custodial measures is imperative and the success of these measures will depend...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Alison Hogg
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Oñati International Institute for the Sociology of Law 2012-06-01
Series:Oñati Socio-Legal Series
Subjects:
Online Access:http://ssrn.com/abstract=2055087
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Summary:<p>All developed countries with few exceptions are facing problems related to prison overpopulation and non-custodial measures are marketed as the solution. The public&rsquo;s involvement and endorsement of non-custodial measures is imperative and the success of these measures will depend upon the contribution of the private sector. The private for-profit and non-profit sectors&rsquo; involvement in this area is not new and unlikely to decrease; however, the public sector must be the one to identify the needs and not fall victim to the courting of the private for-profit sector, which prioritises profit and for who the offender in this context has become a commodity. The non-profit sector can counter the effects of risk management and its plethora of requirements, which are partly responsible for increasing technical violations and obliging probation to take on a more adversarial role. Up until our expectations of probation and offenders in the community become more attainable and reflexive, the non-profit sector can temper the depersonalised and automatic feedback.</p><p>The legitimacy of non-custodial measures depends upon them being cost-effective, efficient, socially acceptable and reflexive. This paper focuses on three genres of non-custodial sentences, which are characteristic of retribution, coercive treatment and restorative justice. The use of these in the United States, Canada, England and Wales, Sweden and Spain is briefly overviewed as well as the contribution of the private sector. Non-custodial measures aren&rsquo;t the panacea for all offending in all cultures but surely are a step in the right direction.</p> <hr /><p>La mayor&iacute;a de los pa&iacute;ses desarrollados se enfrentan a problemas relacionados con la sobrepoblaci&oacute;n de las c&aacute;rceles. Las medidas no privativas de libertad se presentan como una soluci&oacute;n a este problema. Es necesario que la opini&oacute;n p&uacute;blica participe y apruebe las medidas no privativas; el &eacute;xito de estas medidas depender&aacute; tambi&eacute;n de la aportaci&oacute;n del sector privado. La participaci&oacute;n del sector privado, tanto de organizaciones con &aacute;nimo de lucro, como sin &aacute;nimo de lucro, en esta &aacute;rea no es nueva y es improbable que disminuya; sin embargo, el sector p&uacute;blico debe identificar las necesidades sin dejarse influenciar por el sector privado con &aacute;nimo de lucro, interesado en obtener un beneficio econ&oacute;mico, convirtiendo a los presos en una mercanc&iacute;a. Las organizaciones sin &aacute;nimo de lucro pueden contrarrestar los efectos de la gesti&oacute;n de riesgos y sus numerosos requisitos, que son en parte responsables del aumento de los incumplimientos t&eacute;cnicos y de que la libertad condicional asuma un papel contradictorio. Nuestras expectativas sobre la libertad condicional se han cumplido, y los delincuentes son m&aacute;s asequibles y reflexivos en la comunidad; las organizaciones sin &aacute;nimo de lucro pueden suavizar las reacciones despersonalizadas y autom&aacute;ticas.</p><p>La legitimidad de las medidas no privativas de libertad depende de que sean rentables, eficientes, socialmente aceptables y reflexivas. Este art&iacute;culo se centra en tres tipos de medidas no privativas de libertad, como son las caracter&iacute;sticas de las penas, el tratamiento coercitivo y la justicia retributiva. Se analiza brevemente el uso de estos tres tipos de medidas en Estados Unidos, Canad&aacute;, Inglaterra y Gales, Suecia y Espa&ntilde;a, as&iacute; como la aportaci&oacute;n del sector privado. Las medidas no privativas de libertad no son la panacea para todos los delincuentes en todas las culturas, pero son sin duda un paso en la buena direcci&oacute;n.</p> <p><strong>DOWNLOAD THIS PAPER FROM SSRN</strong>: <a href="http://ssrn.com/abstract=2055087" target="_blank">http://ssrn.com/abstract=2055087</a></p>
ISSN:2079-5971