Longer prison sentences cut reoffending

PZH

Not exactly rocket science is it ?

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-13345189

The results show that reoffending rates in 2008 were 7.2 percentage points lower for those sentenced to between two to four years in jail, compared to those serving jail terms of one to two years.

trumpton

I agree. Research seems to suggest that short prison sentences are neither long enough to be a deterrent nor long enough for the offender to receive any worthwhile training or education that might help to rehabilitate them. Worst I saw recently was a 17 year old man who raped a 4 year old girl getting a 5 year sentence. He will be out in 2 and a half years - and if he has been on remand he will probably already have served 6 months or more.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1384872/Teenager-jailed-raping-year-old-girl-Emberton-Country-Park-Milton-Keynes.html?ITO=1490


The scumbag didn't even plead guilty, so she had to give evidence.

Short sentences don't deter offenders, it's an inconvenience that's all.

paddyrg

Just be wary of anything proved with statistics - for instance if person A receives a 1 year sentence, and person B a 5 year sentence, person B has 4 years less time being an active criminal on the streets. Say the criminal lifespan is notionally 40 yrs from adulthood (seeing as we're talking adult prisons) aged 18 to say 60 yrs of age (when a favourable chunk will have either gone straight or died in action, or overdosed, etc), then that 4 years extra inside would mark a 10% reduction in their future criminal enterprise. Realistically, the criminal intent will tend to be front-loaded thanks to attrition, and fewer people decide to get into crime after a crime-free life up to middle age!

Maybe that's the point. But it is not the same thing as a longer sentence reducing the criminal intent to re-offend, it may just be a roundabout way of saying 'people in prison do not conduct crimes outside prison', and nothing about reform.

Now it may well be that longer sentences do reform prisoners behaviour, I'm not arguing either way for that, just always be wary of any statistics, especially ones showing marginal changes with several correlating factors.

fluffnutter

There's also the point that certain types of crime (and hence certain types of criminal) get sentences of a particular length whereas other types will get a longer sentence. It's long been known that the most common re-offender is the person who commits petty crimes and is in and out of the prison system throughout most of their life. It's actually been demonstrated that for these types of criminal, the most successful rehabilitation is community service, not prison. It's also a positive statement in that prison rehabilitation does work (provided someone is there long enough).

I've long thought that petty criminals shouldn't automatically be handed down prison sentences; it leads to overcrowding, rehabilitation is not possible in such a short space of time, and remaining outside the prison system actually benefits many and leads to a smaller likelihood of re-offending. Save prison for the more serious crimes.

This statement [that longer sentences reduce the likelihood of re-offending) shouldn't be used as an argument for simply imposing longer sentences. On the contrary for some types of crime.

Azari

fluffnutter wrote: »

There's also the point that certain types of crime (and hence certain types of criminal) get sentences of a particular length whereas other types will get a longer sentence. It's long been known that the most common re-offender is the person who commits petty crimes and is in and out of the prison system throughout most of their life. It's actually been demonstrated that for these types of criminal, the most successful rehabilitation is community service, not prison. It's also a positive statement in that prison rehabilitation does work (provided someone is there long enough).

I've long thought that petty criminals shouldn't automatically be handed down prison sentences; it leads to overcrowding, rehabilitation is not possible in such a short space of time, and remaining outside the prison system actually benefits many and leads to a smaller likelihood of re-offending. Save prison for the more serious crimes.

This statement [that longer sentences reduce the likelihood of re-offending) shouldn't be used as an argument for simply imposing longer sentences. On the contrary for some types of crime.

Plus, even if you don't care about the criminals, keeping them outside prison is a hell of a lot cheaper than keeping them in.