From Preentry to Reentry: An Examination of the Effectiveness of Institutional and Community-Based Sanctions

Abstract

The following article examines the results of evidence-based reviews of what works in several areas, including the general and specific impact of prison and jail sentences, sentencing alternatives (or preentry strategies), and the recent proliferation of reentry initiatives. The findings included here underscore three points: (1) we need to greatly expand and improve our research base before evidence-based reviews are used as the basis for policy and practice; (2) given our uncertainty regarding the impact of individual offender-based change strategies, we need to consider how individual change may be related to community change; and (3) given the available evidence on general and specific deterrence, we need to rethink the purpose of current sentencing schemes.

Keywords:

• preentry
• reentry
• evidence-based practice
• gold standard
• bronze standard
• individual offender-based change strategies
• community change
• specific deterrence
• general deterrence
• risk reduction
• treatment-focused prisons
• tipping point
• intermediate sanctions
• probation