The Virtual Prison

The last twenty-five years have seen dramatic rises in the prison populations of most industrialised nations. Unable to keep up with increased numbers of convicted offenders, governments and criminal justice systems have been seeking new ways to control and punish offenders. One sanction adopted in Canada and some parts of Europe and the US is community custody which attempts to recreate the punitive nature of prison but without incarceration. This book analyses the effectiveness of this approach and explores its implications for offenders and society as a whole. It demonstrates that if properly conceived and administered, community custody can reduce the number of prison admissions and at the same time promote multiple goals of sentencing. So that offenders given community custody orders are punished yet also given the opportunity to change their lives in ways that would be impossible if they were in prison.

• International scope • covers offender perceptions and experiences of community custody as well as public opinion • Explores implications for countries who have recently adopted this form of sentencing such as the UK

Preface. Foreword Andrew Ashworth. 1. Introduction to the concept of community custody; 2. The way we punish now; 3. Conceptualising community custody; 4. Representative models of community custody; 5. Coming home to prison: offender perceptions and experiences; 6. The effect of community custody on prison admissions; 7. Public attitudes towards community custody; 8. Making community custody work; References; Index.

\'This is an important, well-written, information- and idea-packed book which explores emergent new forms of intensively regulating offenders in the community …\' The Howard Journal of Criminal Justice