Investigating the Role and function of alternative punishments in imprisonment in the return of convicts to the community

Kamal Raouf, a lawyer for a judiciary and a member of the Judiciary Bar Center, told Mehr reporter about the role of alternative punishments in imprisonment: One of the new approaches to the country's criminal policy is to use alternative imprisonment punishments; A method that, instead of traditional punishment, corrective approach, and Relax Follow.

Pointing out that the main purpose of alternative punishments is to reform the offender and bring him back to society, he said: Contrary to punishment that merely punish the offender, the purpose of alternative punishments is to rebuild one's social and moral personality; Especially in cases where the mass is not intense and the perpetrator has no effective criminal history.

This lawyer's lawyer based on Articles 1 to 2 of the Islamic Penal Code The legislator in the ninth chapter of the law has explicitly specified all kinds of alternative penalties and the conditions of its actions. Among these conditions are the lightness of the crime, the lack of effective criminal history, the satisfaction of the private plaintiff, and the proportion of the type of crime and the alternative punishment.

Raouf added: Usually for crimes that are punishable between three months and six months and there are legal requirements, the court may be punishable instead of imprisonment. Determine cash, daily cash penalties, deprivation of social rights, free public services, training courses, animal care, scientific research or internships in skill workshops. The type of service or training should also be proportional to the type of crime.

He continued: For example, if a person has committed a driver's violation, the court may oblige him to undergo a training course in a particular driving school and report his progress by the school to execute the sentences. Or in the case of a person who has lost an animal, the court may oblige him to prepare a animal, keep it, and provide a scientific report.

Referring to the positive effects of this reformist approach, Raouf said: “Sometimes prison not only does not rehabilitate, but also provides the basis for familiarity with professional criminals and learning abnormal behaviors.” For this reason, the alternative imprisonment punishment for those who first committed light crime can prevent more severe social damage.

The lawyer continued: “For example, in cases where the minors committed deliberate beatings and the amount of injury is below five percent, the court may oblige him to pass educated and educational courses in a particular institution or school instead of issuing a sentence.” If successful in ethical and educational tests, this course is considered to be punishable.

At the end, he noted: Alternative penalties can include technical and vocational training such as tailoring, cooking or mechanical that are held under the supervision of criminal sentences. These measures, while rebuilding the person, reduce the likelihood of his return to the delinquency. Although any punishment may also have consequences, the positive effects of alternative punishments are much wider and deeper than purely punitive punishments.