Can We Cope with Alternatives?

Abstract

Proposals for alternatives to prison seldom confront many of the prob lems that the introduction of alternatives in the criminal justice system entails. This is why such proposals more often than not appear to the practitioner to have a utopian tinge. A major reform, which meets all rea sonable requirements of a liberal system of criminal justice, would be to shorten all prison sentences considerably. The usefulness of this alter native deserves careful consideration.