Abstract
Community service has been perceived as a desirable alternative to the use of shortterm imprisonment as a response to increasing crime rates. Although heavily used inWestern Europe and the Old Commonwealth, its adoption in the United States has been localized and patchy. Use in Asia, South America, and Africa is limited. This article reviews the use of community service in selected countries around the world. It concludes that community service can be used as a pretrial diversion, as a condition of probation or parole, or as an option to work off a fine by an impoverished offender. Very often, it is itself a stand-alone sentence, but it can also be used in addition to other sentences. Some countries give community service a secure place in the sentencing tariff, whether as retributively oriented “hard end” penalties or as rehabilitative and/or restorative endeavors. Others leave usage, within broad qualification criteria, to the discretion of sentencers.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
Bard, K. (1993 ). Work in liberty under surveillance in Hungary. In U. Zvekic (Ed.), Alternatives to imprisonment in comparative perspective(pp. 293 -304). Chicago: Nelson-Hall.
2.
Bonsczar, T. (1997 ). Characteristics of adults on probation, 1995. Washington, DC: Office of Justice Programs, U.S. Department of Justice.
3.
Carranza, E., Liverpool, N., & Rodriguez-Manzanera, L. (1993 ). Alternatives to imprisonment in Latin America and the Caribbean. In U. Zvekic (Ed.), Alternatives to imprisonment in comparative perspective(pp. 384 -438). Chicago: Nelson-Hall.
4.
Community Corrections Division (New Zealand). (1993 ). Community service review report(Mimeograph). Wellington, New Zealand: Department of Justice.
5.
Garwe, P. (1998). The Zimbabwe community service scheme. Paper presented at the International Symposium Beyond Prisons hosted by the Correctional Service of Canada in collaboration with the Canadian International Development Agency and Queen’s University, Kingston, Ontario. Retrieved March 24, 1999, from http://www.csc-scc.gc.ca/bprisons/english/zimbe.html
6.
Hamai, K., & Ville, R. (1995 ). Origins and purpose of probation. In K. Hamai, R. Ville, R. Harris, M. Hough, & U. Zvekic (Eds.), Probation round the world: A comparative study(pp. 71 -110). London: Routledge.
7.
Harris, R. (1995 ). Probation round theworld: Origins and development. In K. Hamai, R. Ville, R. Harris, M. Hough, & U. Zvekic (Eds.) Probation round the world: A comparative study(pp. 25 -67). London: Routledge.
8.
Klaus, J. (1998 ). Handbook on probation services: Guidelines for probation practitioners and managers. Rome: United Nations Interregional Crime and Justice Research Institute and the Commonwealth Secretariat.
9.
Lappi-Seppälä, T. (1998). Regulating the prison population—Experiences from a long-term policy in Finland. Paper presented at the International Symposium Beyond Prisons hosted by the Correctional Service of Canada in collaboration with the Canadian International Development Agency and Queen’s University, Kingston, Ontario. Retrieved March 24, 1999, from http://www.csc-scc.gc.ca/bprisons/english/fine.html#TopOfPage
10.
Lo, T. W.,& Harris, R. (2000 ). Research on the operation of community service orders. Report submitted to the Social Welfare Department, Hong Kong Government.
11.
Lo, T. W., Wong, S. W., Chan, W. T., Leung, S. K., Yu, C. S., & Chan, C. K. (1997 ). Research on the effectiveness of rehabilitation programmes for young offenders: Full report. HongKong: Government Printing Department.
12.
Madler, J., & Meagher, D. (1997 ). Compendium of community corrections: programs in North Carolina. Retrieved March 24, 1999, from http://www.aoc.state.nc.us/www/copyright/commissions/sentcom/compen96.html#work
13.
McDonald, D. (1986 ). Punishment without walls: Community service sentences in New York City. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press.
14.
McIvor, G. (1992 ). Sentenced to serve: The operation and impact of community service by offenders. Aldershot, UK: Avebury.
15.
Ministry of Justice (New Zealand). (1999). Review of community-based sentences in New Zealand (Draft consultation paper). Unpublished manuscript.
16.
Morris, N., & Tonry, M. (1990 ). Between prison and probation: Intermediate punishments in a rational sentencing system. New York: Oxford University Press.
17.
Parent, D., Dunworth, T., McDonald, D., & Rhodes, R. (1997 ). Key legislative issues in criminal justice: Intermediate sanctions(National Institute of Justice Research in Action Series). Washington DC: Office of Justice Programs, U.S. Department of Justice.
18.
Petersilia, J. (1987 ). Expanding options for criminal sentencing. Santa Monica, CA: RAND.
19.
Pfeiffer, C. (1996 ). Alternative sanctions in Germany: An overviewof Germany’s sentencing practices (NIJ research preview). Washington DC: U.S. Department of Justice.
20.
Probation and Welfare Service. (1999). [Unpublished report on community service.] Republic of Ireland: Author.
21.
Schmidt, A. (1993 ). An overview of intermediate sanctions in the United States. In U. Zvekic (Ed.), Alternatives to imprisonment in comparative perspective(pp. 349 -362). Chicago: Nelson-Hall.
22.
Scottish Community Service Group. (1986 ). Policy sub-group final report. Scotland: Author.
23.
Stern, V. (1999 ). Alternatives to prison in developing countries. London: International Centre for Prison Studies King’s College London and Penal Reform International.
24.
Tak, P. (1993 ). Community service sentence in the Netherlands. In U. Zvekic (Ed.), Alternatives to imprisonment in comparative perspective(pp. 305 -319). Chicago: Nelson-Hall.
25.
Tonry, M. (1997 ). Intermediate sanctions in sentencing guidelines(National Institute of Justice Issues and Practices). Washington DC: U.S. Department of Justice.
26.
United Nations African Institute for the Prevention of Crime and the Treatment of Offenders. (1998 ). Community service: The African situation(UNAFRI research publication no. 2). Kampala: Author.
27.
Varah, M. (1987 ). Probation and community service. In J. Harding (Ed.), Probation and the community: A practice and policy reader(pp. 68 -82). London: Tavistock.
28.
Whitfield, D. (1993 ). Extending the boundaries. In D. Whitfield & D. Scott (Eds.), Paying back: Twenty years of community service(pp. 89 -102). Winchester, UK: Waterside.