Can probation orders be used as an alternative to imprisonment?

Abstract

Several studies have been carried out with regards to both prison and probation orders. This research was aimed at trying to establish if probation orders are effective and if they can be used as an alternative to prison sentences. The issues of whether probation orders can be more effective in reducing reoffending and recidivism rates and whether probation orders arc cost effective when compared to imprisonment were also investigated. At first the researcher started collecting from different forms of literature about prison, probation orders, rehabilitation, characteristics of the offending population, offender re-entry and other issues. Then he conducted some interviews with different professionals within the local criminal justice system which enabled him to compare and contrast between what was found in the literature and what is the real situation in Malta. From the data that was collected through the literature und through the interviews, the researcher can draw a number of conclusions such as that the Maltese population can be considered as a punitive society because they are more in favour of imprisonment rather than community based sanctions because this makes them feel safer. Other conclusions include that for probation orders and imprisonment to be effective, there needs to be more professionals working in such field so that they would be able to allocate the right amount of time when tackling the needs of each individual. The introduction of new treatment programmes was also seen to be necessary.