To what extent has the introduction of alternatives to custody been motivated by the desire to reduce costs rather that to develop a more humanitarian form of regulation

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Prison has an important role to play in protecting the community against the most dangerous offenders and punishing the most serious crimes. But there are many disadvantages of using imprisonment. In this essay we will discuss the problems and costs of imprisonment and review the alternatives.The costs of crime have become an increasingly important factor for decision-makers concerned with crime and its impact on society. They help make explicit judgements about the relative merits of alternative policies and programmes which are already implicit in decision-making about how to allocate resources of good quality information on costs, has not kept pace with the demand for it (Brand and Price, 2000). Crime reduction and criminal policy is making progress but is still a fair way behind some areas of government in using evidence of effectiveness and cost effectiveness as the basis for setting priorities and allocating resources. Many departments routinely carry out detailed cost-benefit appraisals and evaluations of new social policies (Brand and Price, 2000). It is fact, that custodial sentence is a highly expensive form of punishment. Keeping in mind high reoffending rates, it is natural to assume that it has a little positive impact on offender behaviour, that is supposed to act not only as a punishment, but a form of crime reduction. As crime reduction is a major theme of today’s crime policy, prison is certainly not an effective tool or investment for the purpose. What alternatives to custody do we have? Are they effective in reducing reofending? Are they cost- effective in reducing reoffending? According to Easton and Piper (2005), the origins of ‘quest for economic efficiency’ is the Citizen’s Charter, it has been adopted by New Labour and has permeated the public management for a wide range of institutions. All public sector institutions and agencies have to justify their spending with transparent and comparable measurable results. The focus on value for money is a key feature of the New Managerialist approach throughout the public sector, reflected in the New Public Management. This approach applies methods from the private sector to the Key Performance Indicators which are transparency, a move towards performance related pay, a stress on competition and the use of incentives regardless of the type pf organisation, targets, and league tables comparing levels of efficiency. New Managerialist policies have been applied to Probation, the Police, and the Prison Service, to ensure the best use of resources. Further measures to cut costs include a policy of privatisation of entire prisons or selected services within prisons. ...

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