NCJ Number
214902
Journal
Howard Journal of Criminal Justice Volume: 45 Issue: 2 Dated: May 2006 Pages: 141-158
Date Published
May 2006
Length
18 pages
Annotation
This article explores the effects of the ‘What Works’ policy on community orders and whether these effects have changed the placement of community punishment (community service) and community rehabilitation (probation) in the sentencing tariff.
Abstract
This article suggests that the changes initiated by the ‘What Works’ policy have resulted in making community punishment (community service) and community rehabilitation (probation) equal in the sentencing tariff which sets the penalties associated with criminal offenses in the United Kingdom. The ‘What Works’ policy fostered the development of accredited behavior programs used for the rehabilitation of medium to high-risk offenders sentenced to community orders in an effort to achieve a 5% reduction in reoffending. The resulting behavior programs primarily focus on educating the offender. As a result, the two orders begin to become indistinguishable in terms of penalties and therefore equal on the sentencing tariff, the only difference being that one mandates work outside in the community and the other work inside a building within a community. Community rehabilitation and community punishment are the two main community orders used by the courts today. Historically, community punishment has been viewed as the more severe penalty due to the imposed work requirements associated with the punishment, normally between 40 and 240 hours of supervised work in the community. Community rehabilitation, or probation, focused on supervised treatment of the offender through counseling, psychological assistance, and other needed support. References