- Policy brief 4 (435 Downloads)
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Policy brief 4: The effects of sentencing policy on re-offending
Additional Info
- Authors: Howard White
- Published date: 2017-11-14
- Coordinating group(s): Crime and Justice
- Type of document: Policy brief
- Title: Policy brief 4: The effects of sentencing policy on re-offending
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This Campbell policy brief (click on the download/open icons above) summarises evidence from 12 systematic reviews in the Campbell Library which examine sentencing policies and their effects on re-offending. Custodial sentences do not reduce recidivism by any more than non-custodial approaches, which are cheaper and have fewer consequences for offenders’ families. Diverting offenders before they enter the system is likely to produce less offending. Harsh prison regimes such as boot camps are not effective. Evidence also shows that programmes focused on specific issues such as drug use and sex offenders reduce recidivism.
To access the 12 included systematic reviews in full, click on the links below:
- Court-mandated interventions for individuals convicted of domestic violence
- Benefit-cost analyses of sentencing
- The effectiveness of incarceration-based drug treatment on criminal behavior
- Drug courts’ effects on criminal offending for juveniles and adults
- Effects of parental imprisonment on child antisocial behaviour and mental health
- Formal Processing of juveniles: effect on delinquency
- 'Scared straight' and other juvenile awareness programs for preventing juvenile delinquency
- Sexual offender treatment for reducing recidivism among convicted sex offenders
- Restorative justice conferencing (RJC) using face-to-face meetings of offenders and victims: effects on offender recidivism and victim satisfaction
- The effects on re-offending of custodial vs non-custodial sanctions
- Police-initiated diversion to prevent future delinquent behaviour
- Effects of correctional boot camps on offending