ABSTRACT
Joan Petersilia's chapter maintains the excellent standards the author have come to expect of her; but the result is disappointing. The punishment scene is at the moment crowded with questions that could be answered by clinical trials. The arguments usually advanced for a great expansion of intermediate punishments and a consequent reduction of incarcerative punishments are: Intermediate punishments will save money, will reduce prison crowding, and will reduce crime. The Petersilia chapter advances discussion on these issues by examining the possible pools of prisoners for whom IPs may be the more appropriate punishments and the cost consequences of alternative community-based punishments for various categories of prisoners. The case for expansion of IPs is thus strong and becomes compelling when there are added serious evaluations of their social consequences.
