Short prison sentences: Analysing their effectiveness, appropriateness, and necessity in England and Wales
This paper revisits the long-standing debate surrounding the use of short prison sentences, with a focus on England and Wales. Drawing from over 170 years of historical and empirical discussions, it critically assesses short sentences in terms of their effectiveness, appropriateness, and necessity w...
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Universidad Católica de Córdoba
2025
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| Acceso en línea: | https://revistas.bibdigital.uccor.edu.ar/index.php/RFD/article/view/6064 |
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I38-R399-article-60642025-11-10T17:57:18Z Short prison sentences: Analysing their effectiveness, appropriateness, and necessity in England and Wales Caro , Matías Alejandro short prison sentences sentencing reoffending alternatives criminal justice rehabilitation This paper revisits the long-standing debate surrounding the use of short prison sentences, with a focus on England and Wales. Drawing from over 170 years of historical and empirical discussions, it critically assesses short sentences in terms of their effectiveness, appropriateness, and necessity within the criminal justice system. The analysis demonstrates that while short sentences are largely ineffective in reducing reoffending when compared to alternatives such as community and suspended sentence orders, methodological limitations and contextual variables complicate this conclusion. Furthermore, it is argued that short sentences are inappropriate due to the harmful consequences of imprisonment and its limited rehabilitative potential. Nevertheless, their continued use persists, grounded in their marginal necessity to address prolific offending and ensuring consistency in sentencing practices. Universidad Católica de Córdoba 2025-11-10 info:eu-repo/semantics/article info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion application/pdf application/epub+zip https://revistas.bibdigital.uccor.edu.ar/index.php/RFD/article/view/6064 10.22529/ Revista de la Facultad de Derecho y Ciencias Sociales de la Universidad Católica de Córdoba; Núm. 7 (2024); 176- 193 2684-0677 10.22529/ spa https://revistas.bibdigital.uccor.edu.ar/index.php/RFD/article/view/6064/8857 https://revistas.bibdigital.uccor.edu.ar/index.php/RFD/article/view/6064/8858 Derechos de autor 2025 Revista de la Facultad de Derecho y Ciencias Sociales de la Universidad Católica de Córdoba |
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Universidad Católica de Córdoba |
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I-38 |
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R-399 |
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Revista de la Facultad de Derecho y Ciencias Sociales de la Universidad Católica de Córdoba |
| language |
Español |
| format |
Artículo revista |
| topic |
short prison sentences sentencing reoffending alternatives criminal justice rehabilitation |
| spellingShingle |
short prison sentences sentencing reoffending alternatives criminal justice rehabilitation Caro , Matías Alejandro Short prison sentences: Analysing their effectiveness, appropriateness, and necessity in England and Wales |
| topic_facet |
short prison sentences sentencing reoffending alternatives criminal justice rehabilitation |
| author |
Caro , Matías Alejandro |
| author_facet |
Caro , Matías Alejandro |
| author_sort |
Caro , Matías Alejandro |
| title |
Short prison sentences: Analysing their effectiveness, appropriateness, and necessity in England and Wales |
| title_short |
Short prison sentences: Analysing their effectiveness, appropriateness, and necessity in England and Wales |
| title_full |
Short prison sentences: Analysing their effectiveness, appropriateness, and necessity in England and Wales |
| title_fullStr |
Short prison sentences: Analysing their effectiveness, appropriateness, and necessity in England and Wales |
| title_full_unstemmed |
Short prison sentences: Analysing their effectiveness, appropriateness, and necessity in England and Wales |
| title_sort |
short prison sentences: analysing their effectiveness, appropriateness, and necessity in england and wales |
| description |
This paper revisits the long-standing debate surrounding the use of short prison sentences, with a focus on England and Wales. Drawing from over 170 years of historical and empirical discussions, it critically assesses short sentences in terms of their effectiveness, appropriateness, and necessity within the criminal justice system. The analysis demonstrates that while short sentences are largely ineffective in reducing reoffending when compared to alternatives such as community and suspended sentence orders, methodological limitations and contextual variables complicate this conclusion. Furthermore, it is argued that short sentences are inappropriate due to the harmful consequences of imprisonment and its limited rehabilitative potential. Nevertheless, their continued use persists, grounded in their marginal necessity to address prolific offending and ensuring consistency in sentencing practices. |
| publisher |
Universidad Católica de Córdoba |
| publishDate |
2025 |
| url |
https://revistas.bibdigital.uccor.edu.ar/index.php/RFD/article/view/6064 |
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AT caromatiasalejandro shortprisonsentencesanalysingtheireffectivenessappropriatenessandnecessityinenglandandwales |
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2025-11-15T05:05:56Z |
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2025-11-15T05:05:56Z |
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