Comparing the effects of community service and imprisonment on reconviction: results from a quasi-experimental Danish study

Objective This study compares reconviction rates for Danish offenders sentenced to
community service and imprisonment. A large general sample of offenders (n=1602) is
examined.
Methods The study relies on a quasi-experimental design and uses propensity score matching as well as logistic regression models to analyze the data. Models are differentiated in terms of length of observation period and control variable combinations. The study stands out as compared to previous studies due to the unprecedented assortment of individual background data available. These data, obtained from community service eligibility assessments and registry databases, provide powerful controls over potential selection mechanisms in the multivariate analyses. Furthermore, contrary to previous studies, the current study limits itself to subjects officially assessed and deemed eligible for community service sentences.
Results Imprisonment is associated with a higher rate of recidivism and the result is statistically significant at conventional statistical levels.
Conclusions Community service (CS) compared to imprisonment appears to cause a lower reconviction rate in general. Additional research is needed to shed light on differences in time to failure, the effect of different types of CS and imprisonment, the relationship between time spent in CS and effect as well as the seriousness of offending following sentences of CS as compared to imprisonment.