Josep Cid

Bio: Josep Cid is an academic researcher from Autonomous University of Barcelona. The author has contributed to research in topics: Suspended sentence & Sentence. The author has an hindex of 2, co-authored 2 publications receiving 11 citations.

Suspended sentences in Spain: Decarceration and recidivism

Abstract: The suspended sentence, along with the fine, is the most commonly used alternative to prison in Spain. This sentence is generally regarded as a good sanction because it avoids the personal and financial costs of prison for occasional offenders which are not in need of rehabilitation. The main aim of this article is to present data and empirical research about the effectiveness of the suspended sentence with respect to its two main goals: reducing the use of prison and preventing offenders from re-offending. The data appear to suggest that this is an effective sentence in these terms, but the article also raises questions about the need to replace suspended sentences with more rehabilitative orders in some special cases.

La política criminal europea en materia de sanciones alternativas a la prisión y la realidad española : una brecha que debe superarse

Abstract: La presente aportacion discute si el sistema penologico espanol esta suficientemente adaptado a las recomendaciones del Consejo de Europa relativas al sistema de sanciones alternativas a la prision. Se parte de la premisa que la armonizacion de las legislaciones europeas en materia penologica deberia basarse en el cumplimiento de los principios de la politica criminal europea, puesto que esta supone un desarrollo de los derechos humanos en el ambito de las sanciones penales. El articulo procede estableciendo los dos principios basicos de la politica criminal europea: concebir la prision como ultima ratio y disponer de un sistema efectivo de sanciones alternativas a la prision, que constituya la respuesta normal frente a la comision de una infraccion penal. A continuacion se desarrollan estos principios y se muestra su incumplimiento por parte de la legislacion y la practica espanolas. En el trabajo se realizan diversas propuestas para conseguir que nuestro sistema de sanciones alternativas se adapte a los postulados europeos

The evolution of sentencing policy and practice in England and Wales, 2003–2015

Abstract: Sentencing in England and Wales has evolved in a direction apart from other common law countries. Although sentencing problems found in many Western nations are present, legislative and judicial responses have been very different. The use of custody rose steeply in the 1990s and has remained stable around that level in recent years. Crimes of violence and sexual aggression have, however, attracted increasingly longer sentences. The other principal changes are a steep increase in indeterminate sentence offenders, now accounting for some 19 percent of the prison population, and a striking rise in the volume of suspended sentences that has reduced the use of community sentences rather than terms of imprisonment. Net widening has therefore occurred. The principal distinction between England and most other jurisdictions is that statutorily binding guidelines now exist for both magistrates’ and higher courts. Unlike most US guidelines that assign offenses to levels of seriousness within a single sentenc...

The recidivism of offenders given suspended sentences in New South Wales, Australia

Abstract: The suspended sentence has been described as the 'Sword of Damocles' and praised as a means of exploiting the deterrent effects of prison while avoiding some of its human and financial costs. The deterrent value of suspended sentences is said to derive from the fact that the consequences of reoffending during the period of a suspended sentence are 'known and certain', whereas those attending a breach of probation are not. Past research, however, has shown that suspended sentences do little to reduce the use of imprisonment and, in some cases, actually increase it. Studies purporting to show the deterrent effectiveness of suspended sentences, on the other hand, have been few in number and methodologically weak. In this article, we use propensity matching to compare the effect of suspended sentences on recidivism to that of supervised bonds. We find no difference in rates of reconviction following the imposition of these sanctions. The implications of this finding for the UK system of suspended sentences are discussed.

The Weight of the Sword of Damocles: A Reconviction Analysis of Suspended Sentences in Tasmania

Abstract: Suspended sentences are a widely used but controversial sentencing disposition. This article presents reconviction rates for all sentences imposed over a 2-year period in the Tasmanian Supreme Court, as well as examining different outcomes on the basis of key sentencing variables, including offence type and prior record. The results demonstrate that suspended sentences have comparatively low reconviction rates. The study examines the relative frequency and seriousness of offending, thereby overcoming a common criticism of reconviction studies that they are an 'all-or-nothing' measure, which does not take into account changes in offending patterns. The study also avoids the common error of misattributing reconviction rates to incidences of offending that occurred prior to the imposition of the relevant sentence by excluding pseudoreconvictions, and the findings indicate the extent to which pseudoreconvictions can skew reconviction results. In addition, the use of suspended sentences in combination with other orders, and the reconviction outcomes of such sentences, is analysed. The article concludes with a discussion of the implications of my findings for the further use of suspended sentences, and for future research.

Restorative justice and desistance. The impact of victim-offender mediation on desistance from crime

Abstract: El objeto principal de la tesis doctoral es conocer la capacidad de la justicia restaurativa de incidir en el desistimiento del delito e identificar los posibles mecanismos explicativos entre la participacion en programas de mediacion y el cese en la conducta antisocial de los implicados en los procesos restauradores. Concretamente la tesis se centra en analizar el papel que juegan en el proceso restaurativo el uso de las tecnicas de neutralizacion por parte del infractor, concretamente en que medida el ofensor es capaz de reconocer haber causado un dano a otra persona y mostrar la capacidad de responsabilizarse por ello. Asi mismo se pretende analizar si dicho proceso permite la expresion de actitudes, emociones y sentimientos que permitan llevar al infractor a la reflexion, al arrepentimiento y a expresar verguenza por lo sucedido. El estudio empirico se divide en dos fases con cuatro momentos distintos. La primera fase se comprende de tres momentos. El primero se situa al inicio del proceso, en el que se administra un cuestionario pre-proceso, cuyo objetivo es conocer la predisposicion inicial del infractor a su participacion en el proceso, asi como su actitud hacia el conflicto. El segundo, tiene lugar durante el transcurso del proceso restaurativo y consiste en una observacion no participante de la sesion de mediacion conjunta. El objetivo es observar la actitud del infractor ante la interaccion con la victima, con la presencia de un tercero facilitador. En las sesiones indirectas se observa la ultima sesion entre infractor y mediador. Por ultimo, inmediatamente despues de acabar la sesion conjunta se administra al infractor un cuestionario post-proceso, con el fin de recoger la perspectiva del ofensor acerca del proceso de mediacion, asi como su postura hacia el conflicto una vez finalizado el proceso. La segunda fase consiste en una entrevista narrativa a los infractores de los procesos observados pasados un minimo de seis meses desde la finalizacion del proceso de mediacion. El contenido se centra en el pasado, en el presente y en el futuro, dando cabida al analisis de la situacion vital anterior a la mediacion, asi como a su impacto y perspectivas de futuro.

Develpment of crime, social change, mass media, crime policy, sanctioning practice and thier impact on prison population rates

Abstract: Spain has suffered a big increase of imprisonment between 1980 and 2006, passing from an average prison population of 17,000 prisoners in 1980 to 63,000 in 2006, meaning a growth of 266% in average prison population in 26 years. In order to explore the reasons for this increase in prison population, this paper proposes that is useful to distinguish two main periods: a) 1980-1994 (increase in prison population, followed by stability between 1995 and 2000, and b) 2001-2006 (a second increase in prison population). During these two periods, the growth of incarceration rates is higher in the first period (12% average increase per year) than in the second (6% average increase per year). More recent trends seem to announce an even more pronounced escalation of imprisonment in the foreseeable future. Authors proposes that the two trends that in Spain contribute to the enlargement of the prison incarceration rates, the larger time served by prisoners and the criminalization of new phenomena, will continue in the future.