Alternative Sentencing

Alternative Sentencing

An alternative sentencing policy refers to a punishment other than a prison sentence to a convicted individual or group. The main purpose has its roots in the retributive justice approach of law, in which the focus is on reintegrating the individual into the society. Efforts are made to reduce recidivism and to make the offender realize and make up for the loss caused to the victim of the crime.

The alternative sentencing policy that I selected for my assignment was the House arrest policy. House arrest is the deprivation of freedom of movement and communication of a convicted defendant who stays outside the prison, either in a house or in another fixed location declared by the trial court to the affected proposal (Ball et al., 1988).

House arrest is used in unique situations where the offender can not or should not go to prison. It is found in such cases in which the crime is a smaller offense. Therefore, the deprivation of liberty is an overcharge, also in cases of old age, when you have dependents or a disorder that requires staying in one location, it becomes insufferable.

The arrest may be a precautionary measure, alternative to detention, during the criminal investigation or any other circumstances indicating the desirability of the accused to remain under control, in order to ensure the objectives of criminal proceedings.

In the military justice house arrest is a common figure in situations of grave crisis when trying to avoid the concentration or clustering of officers and contact with armed units. In these cases it equates to confinement.

The arrest is usually a temporary situation that ends in an additional penalty if, in compliance with the law, and in other cases where the deprivation of liberty has lost its relevance to the proceedings. In many situations, especially when it comes to the investigation of a crime, the arrest may be replaced by preventive detention according to the seriousness of the offenses, which is to be warned by the judge.

The penalty restricts movements of the convicted within a particular house, who is then unable to get out of it except with court approval. According to case-law, the convicted may be restricted or even prohibited, foreign visits and external communication. Besides, the pardoned person, with this measure, will be constantly monitored by police personnel to enforce the sentence issued by the respective judge.

Effect on Stakeholders

If the prison staff needs to identify the related detainees and obtain information regarding their current status as a criminal, they will need to do some additional work. Those violators who have an upcoming Home Detention Curfew (HDC) status will be the subject of preliminary emphasis, which will expand on to identify and notify the rest, as the curfew process goes forward. The effect on stakeholders would entail the largest impact in regard to the shifts that are taking place to the already-recognized inappropriate policy. As per anticipation, it is said that this would require the authorities to review the notifications being sent to the ...