Do prison sentences actually work?
Locking people up in prison for years is ineffective and expensive, experts say. Miranda Boone, Professor of Criminology and Comparative Penology, claims in ‘NEMO Kennislink’ that this needs to change: ‘Criminal law as we use it now doesn’t work.’
A prison sentence is still the most severe and expensive punishment that can be imposed in many countries. In the Netherlands, the courts choose a prison sentence more often than any other type of punishment according to a 2022 study. Thirty thousand prison sentences are imposed each year in this country – in many cases short prison sentences with 75% lasting no longer than three months. The researchers also concluded that there is a higher rate of repeat offences after a prison sentence than after any other non-custodial punishment.
‘Criminal law as we use it now doesn’t work’, claims Boone. Those who end up in prison already have many problems, according to the professor. For example, psychological damage that is reinforced by life in prison and years of stigma because of a criminal record. ‘The limited reintegration and resocialisation efforts applied in a criminal justice setting have little effect.’ She proposes that the money currently invested in prisons could be better spent on prevention: ‘Invest in schools, in shelters, in social care, in youth care. And if people still fall through those social safety nets: work with social institutions to get people back on track.'
More information?
Read the full article in NEMO Kennislink (in Dutch)