Intermediate Sanctions In The 21st Century

The primary reason why the policymakers and voters are choosing intermediate sanctions for the non-violent and low-risk offenders is financial constraints and the high costs of prisons (Schmalleger & Smykla, 2015). For example, the support of intermediate sanctions is the fact that prisons are ineffective at rehabilitating prisoners with half of the prisoners released being expected return to prison within three years due to new offenses. The voters also believe too many people are in prison and this is unnecessary considering the costs and the non-violent nature of some convictions.

References

Schmalleger, F., & Smykla, J. O. (2015). Corrections in the 21st century (7th ed.). Boston: McGraw-Hill Higher Education.