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The Effects on Re-offending of Custodial vs. Non-custodial Sanctions: An Updated Systematic Review of the State of Knowledge

"Throughout the Western World, community-based sanctions have become a popular and widely used alternative to custodial sentences. There have been many comparisons of rates of reconviction among former prisoners and those who have served any kind of community sanction. So far, the comparative effects on re-offending of custodial and non-custodial sanctions are largely unknown, due to many uncontrolled variables ... The objective is to assess the relative effects of custodial sanctions (imprisonment) and non-custodial ("alternative" or "community") sanctions on re-offending" (p.8). This study shows that the majority of non-custodial sanctions reduce re-offending more than custodial sanctions.