Restitution

Restitution is related to the fine. Restitution is called compensation in some countries. It is popular in many countries as an alternative to punitive sentencing. But there are some drawbacks: 1) only affluent offender is able to pay restitution; 2) only those victims of crimes for which the offender is caught and convicted and has the funds to pay restitution are recompensed.

In such countries as England and Canada restitution is payed from public funds, whether or not the offender is detected.

Probation

Probation is one of the penalties that doesn’t involve the payment of money. This system takes many different forms in different jurisdictions. The offender is supervised by a probation officer while living in the community. If the offender who has the probation order doesn’t commit any further offence, no other penalty is imposed. If he breaks the requirements of the order or commits another offence, he can be brought before the court and punished for the original offence as well as for the later one.

Suspended Sentence

In many American states probation is combined with a suspended sentence. If the offender breaks the order, the sentence is fixed in advance. In England the sentence is not fixed in advance, and it is up to the court to sentence the offender for the original crime in light of his later behavior if there is a breach of probation term.

Reparation

Reparation is very popular in a number of jurisdictions. Under this method the offender doesn’t pay money for the damage he has done through his crime but provides services to the victim directly or indirectly through the community. In England it takes the form of the community service order. The offender who is convicted and has this order is to perform up to 240 hours of unpaid work for the community. The kind of work depends on the area, the time of year and the abilities of the offender .If the offender completes the work ordered by the court, he receives no further penalty, but if he fails to carry out work without reasonable excuse, he can be re-sentenced for the original offence. This method is less expensive to administer than imprisonment, less harmful for the offender and his family, more useful for the community.

Disqualification

Other alternatives to prison are based on the idea of preventing an offender from committing further offences, without necessarily confining him or her in a prison. The most familiar power of this kind is that of disqualifying an offender from driving a motor vehicle or from holding a driver's license. Other forms of disqualification may be imposed on offenders convicted of particular types of crimes: a fraudulent company director may be disqualified from being involved in the direction of a company, a corrupt politician may be disqualified from holding public office, or a parent who sexually abuses his children may be deprived of parental authority over them.

It appears, however, that imprisonment will still remain the major instrument of punishment. In light of the difficulties surrounding its use, prison ideally should be employed as a last resort for those offenders who cannot be handled in any other way (From Гуманова Ю., 2011) .

Ex. 3 Find the English equivalents for the following words and expressions:

1. кримінальні судові системи

2. відкладений вирок

3. відшкодування (компенсація)

4. відшкодування (грошима )

5. покарання (як вид )

6. побічні ефекти

7. тавро суспільства

8. каральний вирок

9. недолік

10. жертва

11. засуджений

12. умовне засудження

13. за правопорушником спостерігають

14. офіцер пробації

15. суспільство

16. скоїти злочин

17. порушувати вимоги вироку

18. попередній злочин

Ex. 4. Find the Ukrainian equivalents for the following words and expressions:

1. sentence fixed in advance 1. збиток

2. in light of his later behavior 2. служба

3. breach of probation term 3. призначений судом

4. damage 4. не отримати наступне покарання

5. service 5. неоплачуваний

6. unpaid 6. враховуючи його останню поведінку

7. abilities of the offender 7. ув'язнення

8. ordered by the court 8. головний засіб покарання

9. receive no further penalty 9. корумпований політик

10. reasonable excuse 10. бути позбавленим батьківський прав

11. imprisonment 11. ув’язнення правопорушника

12. confining the offender 12. можливості правопорушника

13. disqualifying from holding 13. поважна причина

a driver’s license 14. позбавлення водійський прав

14. corrupt politician 15. вирок призначений зазделегіть

15. be deprived of parental authority 16. порушення терміну пробації

16. the major instrument of

punishment

Ex. 5. Find in the text above the English equivalents for the following words and expressions:

1. бути позбавленим водійських прав

2. бути позбавленим батьківських прав

3. мати право на відшкодування заподіяної шкоди

4. відповідати вимогам

5. корумпований політик

6. насильницький злочин

7. відкладення виконання вироку або покарання

8. стримуючий ефект

9. співробітних служби пробації

10. судове рішення про направлення на пробацію

11. економічні санкції

12. умовне засудження

13. нагляд

14. відкладений вирок

15. компенсація, відшкодування

16. громадські роботи

Ex. 6. Answer the following questions:

1. What are the common alternatives to prison?

2. What are the advantages of the fine?

3. What are the drawbacks of the fine?

4. What alternative to prison is related to the fine?

5. What are the drawbacks of the restitution?

6. In what case can the offender be brought before the court being on probation?

7. What form does reparation take in England?

8. What are the advantages of the reparation?

9. Why will imprisonment still remain the major instrument of punishment?

Ex. 7. Read the text below and comment on the sentence given in bold type.

Tracking Humans: The Electronic bracelet in the Modern World

Alternatives to incarceration such as the use of fines, community service, and restitution are products of the social movements of the 1960s. The rationalizations of these alternatives have been cost effectiveness, efficiency and humaneness. The same arguments have been associated with the newest community-based sanction, "electronic monitoring". It is clear that such an alternative may yield these benefits.

The electronic monitoring system generally requires the offender to wear an electronic bracelet around his or her ankle or wrist. The monitoring is usually of two types: passive or active. The passive system provides for random telephone monitoring by authorities in order to confirm that it is the specific offender who is present and responding. In contrast, an active system provides continuous information as to whether an individual is within the range, generally 150 to 200 feet, of a transmitter located within their residence. This is commonly referred to as continuous monitoring.

The overriding rationale in favour of electronic monitoring appears to centre on its potential to alleviate both prison overcrowding and the financial burden of incarceration.

The effects of imprisonment on an individual may be great. It is common knowledge that imprisonment returns a man to society with a scarred psyche, unpaid debts and financial losses, a highly disruptive if not irreparably broken family, children who lose respect for their parent, no job, and a gap in his life history that is hard to explain when he seeks a new job. In this respect, electronic monitoring allows the offender to remain at home where he or she can continue to hold employment and maintain any dependent children.

Consequently, society may benefit as well, since there will be no additional burden placed on the welfare system, as would be the case if an offender with dependent family members was imprisoned.

Violent crimes committed by electronically monitored offenders are rare. About one out of twenty-five electronically monitored offenders commit crimes, and the vast majority of these new offences are non-violent. Moreover, these figures compare favourably with other monitoring systems, including bail and probation (From….).

Read and memorize the following words:

1. efficiency – ефективність

2. rationalization – удосконалення

3. yield – приносити (надавати)

4. benefit – прибуток, отримувати користь

5. electronic monitoring system – система електронного моніторінгу

6. ankle – щиколотка

7. wrist – зап’ясток

8. random – випадковий (нерегулярний)

9. confirm – підтверджувати

10. respond – відповідати

11. within the range – в межах

12. overriding rationale – основне підгрутня

13. in favour of – на користь

14. alleviate – зменшити

15. financial burden – фінансовий тягар

16. scarred psyche – травмована душа

17. dept – борг

18. disruptive – руйнівний

19. irreparably broken family – безнадійно зруйнована сім’я

20. life history – автобіографія

21. welfare system – достаток

22. rare – рідкі

Ex. 8. Answer the following questions:

1. What is the electronic monitoring system? What is its purpose?

2. What is the difference between passive and active monitoring?

3. What are the advantages of electronic monitoring compared with incarceration? What are its drawbacks?

Ex. 9. Study the texts above (Ex. 2, 7) and write down the advantages and disadvantages of each alternative to imprisonment. Make up your own list of prison alternatives.

Ex. 10. Read the following text and answer the questions:

1. What approach characterises the Dutch punitive system?

2. What penalties do the Dutch prefer to impose on their criminals?

3. What are the prisons in Holland like?

4. What rights do prisoners enjoy in the Netherlands?

5. What is the goal of humanitarian treatment of offenders in Holland?