3 ms·

In general, I think that’s not established to be true at all. Going to prison raises the risk of future crimes, compared to e.g community service.

• sokoloff 4y ago
  Have randomized controlled trials been held on this point? I think we can all imagine dozens of confounding factors among the people assigned to community service vs prison if the assignment is done via an element of human judgment.
  • lazyasciiart 4y ago
    Yes. Here's one, for example: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/229989870_Does_Community_Service_Rehabilitate_better_than_Short-term_Imprisonment_Results_of_a_Controlled_Experiment https://www.researchgate.net/publication/229989870_Does_Comm... This meta-study pulls together RCTs and experimental programs and covers non-custodial (which includes a range of options besides community service) v custodial, and finds them to be at worst equivalent for recidivism https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.4073/csr.2015.1 https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.4073/csr.2015.1
    • sokoloff 4y ago
      Thanks for the link; I will read the full paper later today. At a reading of abstract, I don't know how much I worry about recidivism for the criminals facing prison sentences of no more than 14 days. Those are people charged with some ticky-tack offense and probably not the people who are disproportionately likely going to go on to carjack or murder someone in my family.