Comparing the Effects of Imprisonment and Alternative Sanctions on Crime Prevention: Systematic Review of Meta-Analysis Studies
Buket AbanozThis study aims to systematically review the results of research on the effect of short-term imprisonment and alternative sanctions on preventing recidivism. The systematic review in this study was carried out using resources at the Campbell Collaboration Library of Systematic Reviews and Google Scholar. Three meta-analytic studies about the effect of shortterm imprisonment and alternative sanctions on preventing recidivism met the eligibility criterias set forth for this systematic review. These three studies include evaluations carried out between 1960 and 2013. All three meta-analytic studies suggest that alternative sanctions are more effective at preventing recidivism than imprisonment. However, the level of effectiviness is not significant. These three studies indicate that imprisonment does not have a statistically significant effect in preventing reoffense. Furthermore, one of three studies indicates that imprisonment actually has an adverse effect on preventing recidivism. The following questions are discussed in this study: Can the finding that alternative sanctions are more effective than imprisonment on preventing recidivism be generalized across all alternative sanctions? In addition, is it possible to draw conclusions as to which alternative sanctions are more effective than others? Finally, can these findings guide the evaluation of the Turkish criminal justice system? The results of these findings are discussed in terms of theory, practice, and research.
Suçun Önlenmesinde Hapis Cezası ile Seçenek Yaptırımların Etkinliğinin Karşılaştırılması: Meta-Analiz Çalışmalarının Sistematik Olarak İncelenmesi
Buket AbanozBu çalışmada, kısa süreli hapis cezası ile seçenek yaptırımların mükerrer suçluluğun önlenmesi üzerindeki etkisi ampirik bulgular eşliğinde değerlendirilmiştir. Çalışmada metot olarak arama, Campbell İşbirliği’nin sistematik derlemeler kütüphanesi ve Google akademik üzerinden sistematik olarak gerçekleştirilmiştir. Çalışmanın sonucunda, araştırmada belirlenen kriterlere göre hapis ve seçenek yaptırımların mükerrer suçluluğun önlenmesi üzerindeki etkisini değerlendiren üç meta-analiz çalışması tespit edilmiştir. Üç çalışmada da seçenek yaptırımların, hürriyeti bağlayıcı cezalara nazaran tekrar eden suçluluğun önlenmesinde daha etkili olduğuna, fakat bu etkinin kayda değer bir büyüklükte olmadığına ilişkin bulgular ortaya koyulmaktadır. Bununla birlikte, bir çalışmada hapis cezasının mükerrer suçluluğun önlenmesinde istatistiksel olarak anlamlı bir etkiye sahip olmadığı, bilakis tekrar eden suçluluğun artmasına neden olduğu görülmektedir. Çalışmada bulguların teori, uygulama ve bilimsel araştırmalar açısından doğurduğu sonuçlar tartışılmaktadır.
This study aims to systematically review the available research on the effect of short-term imprisonment and alternative sanctions on preventing recidivism. The systematic review in this study was carried out using resources at the Campbell Collaboration Library of Systematic Reviews and Google Scholar. These databases were searched using the following keywords: imprisonment, prison sanction, shortterm imprisonment versus alternative sanctions, custodial versus non-custodial sanctions, formal sanctions versus immediate sanctions, recidivism, reoffending, victim, systematic review, meta-analysis, random controll. The author searched referenced lists, and conducted electronic searches for all reports that used these particular terms. However, only studies written in English and Turkish were considered for this systematic review. In order to be included in this systematic review, the meta-analytic evaluation studies fulfilled the following criteria: (1) All of them had at least one control or comparison group. (2) All of them had control and experiment groups consisting of people who were sentenced to imprisonment and alternative sanctions. (3) The interventions were homogenous; in other words, either prison sanctions or alternative sanctions were applied for the control and experimental groups. (4) All of the studies measured, the recidivism rate after imprisonment and alternative sanctions. That isi if a study compared only the execution cost of imprisonment and alternative sanctions, it was not included in this systematic review (McDougall et all, 2008). However, in a meta-analytic study, more than one measurement can be conducted. If the effect of prison and alternative sanctions on recidivism was clear and separate in the study, the study was included in this systematic review. (5) The results of the included studies in this systematic review were examined using metaanalytical methods. Three meta-analytic studies (Nagin et al, 2009; Jonson, 2010; Villettaz et al, 2015) about the effect of short-term imprisonment and alternative sanctions on preventing recidivism met the eligibility criterias set forth in this systematic review. These three studies include evaluation studies carried out between 1960 and 2013. All three studies are connected with each other because the evaluation studies they contain the same evaluation studies. The author draws some conclusions based on the findings from these three meta-analytic studies. First, it appears that the number of systematic reviews assessing the impact of imprisonment and alternative sanctions on recidivism is scarce. However, the number of evaluation studies is rather high. Researchers prefer to compare the prison sentence with one or more alternative sanctions rather than conducting systematic review. Second, this systematic review reveals findings that alternative sanctions are more effective than imprisonment in preventing recidivism. All three meta-analytic studies suggest that alternative sanctions are more effective than imprisonment on preventing recidivism. However, the level of this effectiviness is not significant. These three studies indicate that imprisonment does not have a statistically significant effect on preventing reoffense. Furthermore, one meta-analytic study indicates that imprisonment has an adverse effect on preventng recidivism (Jonson, 2010). These findings contradict the theory of deterrence, which suggests that imprisonment is the most effective method of preventing crime. However, it should not be overlooked that criminals in the control group who were sentenced to imprisonment were in a certain risk group and committed certain crimes. The experimental group consisted of criminals who committed crimes that could be converted to alternative sanction. In legal systems, short-term prison sentences (generally 6-12 months) are converted to alternative sanctions. Therefore, the finding that alternative sanctions are more effective than imprisonment only applies to short- term imprisonment. Third, can the findings that alternative sanctions are more effective than imprisonment on preventing recidivism be generalized to all alternative sanctions? In addition, is it possible to conclude as to which alternative sanctions are more effective than the others? Fourth, can the findings serve as a guide for Turkey’s criminal justice system? The results of the findings in this study are discussed in terms of theory, practice and research.