# Belgium bans short jail sentences **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [March 20, 2015, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/belgium-bans-short-jail-sentences/715513 "2015-03-20T17:32:37Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 4\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2015, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/belgium-bans-short-jail-sentences/715513/41 "2015-03-22T18:28:28Z")
> [@Freudian\_Slit](#): > > Well, doesn’t all mugging involve robbery/theft? How is that not a crime? I think his point is that the word mugging is like the word killing. It’s a colloquial term to describe a type of crime but not a legal term. A person may mug somebody or kill somebody but the crime they’re convicted of is robbery or homicide. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2015, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/belgium-bans-short-jail-sentences/715513/42 "2015-03-22T19:04:47Z")
:mad: Belgium! My apologies to Dopers of delicate sensibilities WRT profanity. ---
**Author:** ![Pjen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Pjen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pjen)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2015, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/belgium-bans-short-jail-sentences/715513/43 "2015-03-22T19:14:35Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > :mad: Belgium! > My apologies to Dopers of delicate sensibilities WRT profanity. Maybe we should rename the thread “The Penitentiary at the End of the Universe.” ---
**Author:** ![doreen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/858c86/32.png) [@doreen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doreen)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2015, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/belgium-bans-short-jail-sentences/715513/44 "2015-03-22T21:17:04Z")
> [@Happy\_Fun\_Ball](#): > > There was just a study done here in the US in the last year or two that showed the exact opposite (shorter prison stays have lower recidivism rates). It was only looking at parole violations, but it was at least evidence based. I would love to see the study done by the Belgians… > [http://www.apaintl.org/resources/documents/ProjectSUCCESSShort-termInterventionsforSuccessforTechnicalParoleViolators.pdf](http://www.apaintl.org/resources/documents/ProjectSUCCESSShort-termInterventionsforSuccessforTechnicalParoleViolators.pdf) > [http://www.regblog.org/2014/08/27/27-kenney-shorter-sentences-for-parole-violators/](http://www.regblog.org/2014/08/27/27-kenney-shorter-sentences-for-parole-violators/) > [@JRDelirious](#): > > It is often mentioned in discussions of crime and deterrence that what’s on the common street-level offender’s mind, when pondering if it’s worth it, is not primarily how harsh is the sentence at the end of the process, but _whether he will be caught and charged to begin with_. ``` OK **Happy Fun Ball** , now I'm going to look for the actual study. The above two points are very likely connected. A number of states are in the process of reforming parole/probation supervision in general and how violations are handled in particular. One of the changes is a movement toward extremely short periods of incarceration for certain offenders/violations. And by extremely short, I mean a day or two or possibly three. But along with the super short jail sentences goes the concept of "swift and certain" - meaning that the *first* failed drug test or failure to keep a program appointment or curfew violation will result in a sanction which may be a couple of days in jail or reporting to the parole office daily or electronic monitoring ( or whatever other sanction someone can think up) Currently, at least in my state they "work with the parolee" - which tends to mean the first failed urine test in being sent for treatment, the first (and probably second) missed appointment results in rescheduling and the first curfew violation most likely results in a warning. By the time a violator is actually incarcerated , the parolee has violated multiple times and a fair amount of them go just up to the line where the next violation will get them sent to jail - and then change their behavior for just long enough to stay out of jail. The theory is that the "swift and certain" short term sentence will be more effective in changing their behavior than a longer but uncertain sentence. The example I often use is parking tickets- I know people who part illegally every day even though if they get a ticket the fine will be over $100. I used to tell people not to park there and their response was always "They never give tickets". Well, they do - but it only happens two or three times a year. That's why people park there- they take a chance because they are unlikely to get a ticket more than twice a year. If they got a $10 ticket *every single time *they parked illegally , they would stop after a week or two and park in one of the garages that charge $6/day. ``` [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/belgium-bans-short-jail-sentences/715513.md?page=2)