ABSTRACT
In considering sentences for those found guilty of offences, the courts have recourse to a number of options. The most commonly imposed are sentences of death, imprisonment, whipping and fines, with imprisonment being the most heavily used. This chapter focuses on the efficacy of imprisonment as a tool for the reduction of crime. Imprisonment may be divided into three categories, namely, imprisonment for life, imprisonment for a definite period, and imprisonment in default of payment of a fine. However, young adult offenders, that is, those between the ages of 18 and 21 years, usually, but not always, are committed to one of 4 advanced approved schools run by the Prisons Department. Incapacitation is easily the most direct effect of imprisonment felt by offenders sentenced therein. The Prisons Department of Malaysia adopted a similar notion of rehabilitation, namely, to facilitate prisoners to regain their self-respect and eventually return to the community as law-abiding and socially productive persons.
