The privatisation of non-custodial measures: an uneasy balance between legitimacy and immediacy

Abstract

All developed countries with few exceptions are facing problems related to prison overpopulation and non-custodial measures are marketed as the solution. The public’s involvement and endorsement of non-custodial measures is imperative and the success of these measures will depend upon the contribution of the private sector. The private for-profit and non-profit sectors’ involvement in this area is not new and unlikely to decrease; however, the public sector must be the one to identify the needs and not fall victim to the courting of the private for-profit sector, which prioritises profit and for who the offender in this context has become a commodity. The non-profit sector can counter the effects of risk management and its plethora of requirements, which are partly responsible for increasing technical violations and obliging probation to take on a more adversarial role. Up until our expectations of probation and offenders in the community become more attainable and reflexive, the non-profit sector can temper the depersonalised and automatic feedback. The legitimacy of non-custodial measures depends upon them being cost-effective, efficient, socially acceptable and reflexive. This paper focuses on three genres of non-custodial sentences, which are characteristic of retribution, coercive treatment and restorative justice. The use of these in the United States, Canada, England and Wales, Sweden and Spain is briefly overviewed as well as the contribution of the private sector. Non-custodial measures aren’t the panacea for all offending in all cultures but surely are a step in the right direction.