Program Completion and Recidivism Outcomes Among Adult Offenders Ordered to Complete a Community Service Sentence

Relatively little research has examined the outcomes (either program completion or recidivism) of community service (CS) sentences among adult offenders in the United States, despite the fact that this form of alternative sanction has been employed in the United States for nearly 40 years. What little research exists, primarily from Europe, suggests that community service may not yield significant reductions in recidivism. Increased use of community service in this country is suggested to have several potential benefits including the alleviation of jail crowding, reduction of correctional costs, as well as provision of credible intermediate punishment. Reductions in crowding and associated costs depend, however, on CS being utilized with incarceration-bound offenders and also that these offenders be managed under this community-based sanction without risk to public safety. This study finds that several characteristics indicative of more "serious" offenders (e.g., criminal history and other personal characteristics) are related to lower likelihood of program completion. Initial evidence also suggests that among those receiving this type of sentence, program completion reduces recidivism risk, controlling for the underlying propensity to complete the sentence. Limitations of the design and suggestions for future research are also discussed. (C) 2006 by The Haworth Press, Inc. All rights reserved.