Racial differences in perceptions of the severity of sanctions: A comparison of prison with alternatives

A comparison of punishment exchange rates between offenders under supervision and their supervising officers

“…As such, even among those incarcerated in the same setting, not all individuals experience the same bdegreeQ of punishment. Additionally, Crouch (1993) and Wood and May (2003) reported that Blacks were more likely than Whites to prefer prison over ostensibly more lenient alternative sanctions. Likewise, Wood et al (2005) found that males were more likely than females to express preferences for prison over shock incarceration (boot camp).…”

“…The instrument used to collect the data was an eight-page questionnaire adapted from the one used in several other studies Wood & Grasmick, 1999;Wood & May, 2003;Wood et al, 2005). After answering a series of demographic questions (presented below), the offenders were presented with descriptions of nine alternative sanctions, including county jail, boot camp, electronic monitoring, regular probation, community service, day reporting, intermittent incarceration, halfway house placement, and day fine (included in Appendix A).…”

Educational Outcomes After Serving with Electronic Monitoring: Results from a Natural Experiment

“…Additionally, in EM-programs including a provision to attend school, contact with pro-social classmates, instead of criminal inmates, can increase the chances of young offenders continuing in the school system. 1 It is important to mention that empirical studies have questioned this notion of non-custodial sanctions as less harsh or severe to the individual, e.g., through examples of offenders choosing prison instead of early release with intense supervision and through offenders rating non-custodial sanctions as more severe than short-term prison sentences (Descenes et al 1995;Payne and Gainey 1998;Petersilia and Descenes 1994;Wood and May 2003). In the Danish context, however, about 80 percent of the offenders rated electronic monitoring as less severe than prison, when asked in a questionnaire after the EM-program (Jørgensen 2011).…”

Exploring the Positive Punishment Effect Among Incarcerated Adult Offenders

“…Such findings undermine classical deterrence doctrine which claims that those who are imprisoned for a crime would be a) less likely to re-offend, and b) less likely to prefer prison over a community based sanction. This research shows that offenders with prison experience are more likely to choose to do the time and be released, rather than "gamble" by investing time and effort in completing an alternative sanction with a high perceived likelihood of revocation, unacceptable restrictions, and supervision by hostile probation and parole officers (Wood and Grasmick 1999;Wood and May 2003).…”

“…Finally, in questioning the deterrent effect of imprisonment, recent work demonstrates that male and Black offenders-particularly those with prior prison experienceare more likely than females and Whites to choose to serve prison over any amount of a variety of alternative, community-based sanctions (Wood and Grasmick 1999;Wood and May 2003). Such findings undermine classical deterrence doctrine which claims that those who are imprisoned for a crime would be a) less likely to re-offend, and b) less likely to prefer prison over a community based sanction.…”