Young people who receive community service after a crime instead of a short prison sentence are less likely to commit the same mistake. Of the juveniles who have performed community service, 41 percent commit another offense within two years, compared to 50 percent of the juveniles with a prison sentence. This is apparent from doctoral research by Gwendolyn Koops-Geuze for the Erasmus School of Law and the Leiden Law School, which was published on Monday in the American magazine. Youth Violence and Juvenile Justice.
Koops-Geuze looked at data from 4,400 young people aged 12 to 17 who were sentenced by the juvenile court in 2015 and 2016 to community service or a prison sentence of up to four months. Community service appears to be mainly successful in preventing serious crime, such as assault or open assault. Koops-Geuze: „We did not see that difference in very serious crime. We did not investigate further why this is so.”
The researcher also distinguished between young people with a low risk of recidivism and a high risk. To determine the risk, a Board investigator looks at, among other things, a person’s home situation, any addiction and whether the young person goes to school or has a job. “51 percent of high-risk young people went wrong again if they were given community service, with a prison sentence that was 60 percent. That is why it is so important to look at: what exactly happens during a community service order? What is going well and what is not?”
Insight into the effect of community service
What exactly community service means for a young person has not yet been properly researched, says Koops-Geuze. “We only have theoretical explanations for the time being. But it is true that a young person with community service in society is less exposed to other criminal young people in prison in this way.” Also, someone who has to perform community service is less likely to receive a negative label in their own environment. And community service does not “cut someone off from society. They can keep a legal side job or keep in touch with, for example, a role model at school. You don’t want to cut those ties.” And that is good, says Koops-Geuze, because it is still possible for young people to make adjustments so that they do not end up on the wrong path.
To gain more insight into the effect of community service on young people, she interviewed 25 young people before, during and after their community service. The results of this are not yet known. “But it is clear that we should look more at the content of community service and its effect on someone’s thinking and further life.” The percentages that come from Koops-Geuze’s research show that community service has a lot of potential, she says, but it could be better. “We need to look more closely at the question: what exactly does community service do?”