I was starting to work on sentencing guidelines and then I wondered how common systems like probation were across the world. The data below is the common criminal punishments lower than full prison terms.
If we think of standard punishments in terms of cycles of emotion, the standard crime and then punishment goes like a child getting yelled at to not do something and pretty much ends there. This is why I think the traditional restorative justice/clan mediation is so interesting. From what I have read about it so far is it takes the criminal through the whole multi-step emotional process of having to be told about the pain that their actions have caused and to offer an apology that goes much more in depth than the usual fake court apologies Americans are used to seeing in court cases. I will try to learn more about how different regions utilize this process and then make recommendations how new countries can implement it.
(Mostly AI)
1. Warning
- 140-170 countries use warnings as a lower criminal penalty
2. Fines
- Nearly every country uses fines, though some rely more heavily on corporal punishment, short prison sentences, or religious penalties
3. Suspended sentences
- The judge gives a prison sentence but does not enforce it unless the person reoffends
- 130-160 countries use suspended sentences
4. Community service
- 130-160 countries use community service
5. Traditional or restorative justice
- Clan or community mediation in some regions
- 80+ countries use a version of this technique (examples: New Zealand, Canada Indigenous, Norway, South Africa, Oceania)
6. Probation/Community Supervision
- Probation is used in 120-150 countries
7. Weekend Prison Sentences
- Allows the criminal to keep their job and so maintains financial support to their dependents and themselves
- 20-40 countries utilize this