Helping or Hurting

Short-term imprisonment in Macedonian system of criminal sanctions

Abstract

The author of the paper deals with the issues of short-term
imprisonment, a comparative overview of the regulations and
practices in force, the types of offenders sentenced to short-term
imprisonment, and the substitutes of punishment. The paper
analyses the effectiveness of this kind of punishment in the
Republic of Macedonia. Frequently, this kind of punishment is
imposed on offenders who are a committing crime for the first
time. The first-timers had different needs, reoffending risks and
different experiences of imprisonment. They also often lost jobs or
housing due to imprisonment, and they found imprisonment
tougher, while also having a lower likelihood of reoffending. On
the other hand, many prisoners preferred a short-term prison
sentence over a substitute of this type of punishment, because it is
easier to complete, while others considered that the alternatives to
imprisonment like community sentences, to be a more severe form
of punishment. The matter of short-term sentences such as short-term imprisonment, as part of the variety of penalties, is a matter
of unquestionable importance and interest both for theory, which –
it seems – has not dealt with all the aspects and elements of the
issue, and for practice, which is issuing such sanctions on a daily
basis to the offenders of minor, but yet socially harmful deeds.