Community service Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Community service - Research Paper Example The program is meant to be of value to the greater community. The program was initiated in the United States and the legislatures adopted it to avoid the overcrowding experienced in prisons. Offenders who were convicted of non-violent charges would be given days and hours to work in community services rather than being taken to prison (Alarid, 2014). The offenders would also be ordered to make restitution to the various victims in lieu of incarceration. The program however has had it share view of criticism particularly during the early days of its enactment. People would argue that the community services would be beneficial to the community, which had not suffered any loss or affected in the crime. There were suggestions that the community was never a victim in any crime conducted to a person. There were further suggestions that the community service did not make good the community and so it would be a waste to establish the program. To counter these false accusations, judges proved that the community is a secondary victim of any crime. In th e 1997 case ruling (Van Ness and Strong), the judge ruled that the community suffered psychological injuries brought about by fear of any crime committed. The community has in several cases been forced to raise insurance costs and make donations making it to be a secondary victim of any crime committed. Under the program, the crime offender gets the chance to see how his or her crime has impacted the community and get a firsthand experience of the indirect injuries his or her crime causes. Community service gives the offender a chance to see the limit the society tolerates his or her actions. The program gives the offender a proactive and constructive chance to repair the damages caused by his or her crime. Community service is centered on accountability rather than rehabilitation or punishment. The program focuses on the strengths rather than their needs or the offenders. The program overlooks a person’s lack of