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Alternatives to Prison in the Caribbean Conference Keynote Address. Dr. Axel Klein, University of Kent. ATIC Conference Objectives. Set out the argument for alternatives to custodial punishment for petty offenders
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Alternatives to Prison in the Caribbean ConferenceKeynote Address Dr. Axel Klein, University of Kent
ATIC Conference Objectives • Set out the argument for alternatives to custodial punishment for petty offenders • Develop instrument and mechanisms to facilitate the implementation of community punishments • Strengthen the coalition for Criminal Justice reform within countries, the region and beyond
Punishment and retribution Deterrence Incapacitation Rehabilitation Financial cost to tax payer Emotional trauma to family Social cost to community Criminogenic factors Benefits and Costs of Prison
Penalties awarded by survey participants to recidivist burglar
Sentencing Options • Suspended sentence • Fines • Community service/punishment • Custodial sentences are only passed when the offence was so serious that it can be justified. • The seriousness of an offence depends on the culpability of the criminal act or omission – and on the gravity of actual consequence.
Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales • “it was reasonably arduous and not particularly pleasant…but I found it a positive experience, and my fellow workers took an obvious satisfaction I doing the job well. Passers by , including the community policeman stopped to congratulate us on the improvement we were making. A small group of boys stopped to cross examine us and left having learnt a useful lesson about crime and punishment”
Summarising arguments for Community Punishment • Imprisonment is expensive; the costs of community payback are much lower • Community payback is a visible form of restorative justice. It does what the name suggests; it makes reparation to the community for criminal behaviour; • Community payback is more likely to achieve rehabilitation than a short sentence of imprisonment.