NCJ Number
94158
Date Published
1984
Length
124 pages
Annotation
Nonoffenders in New Zealand viewed the community service sentence as providing a benefit to the offender, and most of the offenders interviewed said that they had benefited from the experience.
Abstract
The interviews took place in the spring of 1983 and included four groups of people: 42 probation officers, 65 sponsors who supervised service assignments, 68 offenders, and 11 judges. Most of the subjects were generally positive in their attitude to the community service sentence, which had been in use for just over 2 years. When selecting offenders suitable for the program, probation officers most commonly looked for indications of personal and social stability, while judges looked for a person with no criminal record or a short and nonviolent record. Sponsors looked for specific job skills, interest in the organization, and positive personality characteristics. Nearly all the offenders said that they had been asked for their consent -- a legal requirement of the sentence. However, a few said they had been asked after having been sentenced, and two said they had not been asked at all. Offenders were placed with day and residential centers for people needing care, special interest groups, sporting groups, service groups, churches, and education centers. Cleaning, gardening, and maintenance jobs were the tasks for about half the placements. A list of issues which need to be addressed, data tables, and figures are provided.