The Secret of a Cheaper Sentencing System : Lessons from Europe

The United States has one of the highest incarceration rates in the world. Imprisoning a large portion of the population imposes a heavy financial burden on the society. On the other hand, many European countries increased their use of alternative sanctions and developed a rich sentencing continuum. This resulted in lower prison population, and higher portion of punishments which not only cost less, but also bring benefits to the society (e.g. fines, community service). This transformation did not result in excessive crime rates and uncontrolled offenders. It seems that the United States can benefit from the European experience. Therefore, this paper offers an extensive comparative analysis of the available sanctions and measures in Europe and in the U.S. In addition, to the extent possible, it provides the scope of usage of those sanctions, their costs, and empirical evidence of their effectiveness