Periodic detention or weekend detention is a type of

custodial sentence A custodial sentence is a judicial sentence, imposing a punishment consisting of mandatory custody of the convict, either in prison or in some other closed therapeutic or educational institution, such as a reformatory, (maximum security) psychi ...

under which the offender is held in

prison A prison, also known as a jail, gaol, penitentiary, detention center, correction center, correctional facility, or remand center, is a facility where Prisoner, people are Imprisonment, imprisoned under the authority of the State (polity), state ...

between Friday and Sunday evenings each week, but is at liberty at other times. Promoted by prison reformers as an alternative to imprisonment, periodic detention drew praise for allowing offenders to continue working, maintain family relationships, and avoid associating with more dangerous criminals in traditional prisons. It was also considerably less expensive to administer.

Implementations

Australia

Periodic detention was introduced in the

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

n State of

New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...

in 1971 and expanded on the recommendation of the Nagle

royal commission A royal commission is a major ad-hoc formal public inquiry into a defined issue in some monarchies. They have been held in the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Norway, Malaysia, Mauritius and Saudi Arabia. In republics an equi ...

. The State's first periodic detention centre operated at the Malabar prison complex. Other centres later opened at Bathurst,

Broken Hill Broken Hill is a city in the Far West (New South Wales), far west region of outback New South Wales, Australia. An inland mining city, it is near the border with South Australia on the crossing of the Barrier Highway (A32) and the Silver City Hi ...

Emu Plains Emu Plains is a suburb of Sydney in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is west of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of the City of Penrith and is part of the Greater Western Sydney region. Emu Plains ...

Silverwater Silverwater is a suburb in western Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Silverwater is located 15 kilometres west of the Sydney central business district on the southern bank of the Parramatta River within the local government ar ...

, Tamworth, Tomago and Unanderra. A facility for female offenders, the Norma Parker Periodic Detention Centre, operated at Parramatta. High-profile offenders sentenced to periodic detention included actor Diarmid Heidenreich, investment adviser Rene Rivkin and bookmaker

Robbie Waterhouse Robert Waterhouse is an Australian racing identity, businessman, form specialist, punter and bookmaker. Waterhouse is the son of Bill Waterhouse, he is married to thoroughbred horse trainer Gai Waterhouse, and is the father of bookmaker Tom ...

. New South Wales ended its periodic detention program 2010, in favour of non-custodial sentences such as "intensive corrections orders", a form of mandatory

community service Community service is unpaid work performed by a person or group of people for the benefit and betterment of their community contributing to a noble cause. In many cases, people doing community service are compensated in other ways, such as gettin ...

possibly combined with other conditions such as drug-testing. Under the new system, a conditional non-custodial sentence is imposed. The offender is not detained if conditions are satisfied, but the sentence may be upgraded to full-time custodial detention if the conditions are violated. The

Australian Capital Territory The Australian Capital Territory (ACT), known as the Federal Capital Territory until 1938, is an internal States and territories of Australia, territory of Australia. Canberra, the capital city of Australia, is situated within the territory, an ...

operated a periodic detention centre at

Symonston Symonston (postcode: 2609) is a primarily industrial and agricultural suburb of Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, Australia. Symonston is named after Sir Josiah Symon a Legislator, Federalist and one of the Founders of the Constitution of ...

New Zealand

Periodic detention operated in

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

between 1962 and 2002, although offenders did not always serve on weekends. High-profile offenders sentenced to periodic detention included former Member of parliament John Kirk. In 2002, periodic detention was combined with community service.

Criticism

Referring specifically to the implementation of periodic detention in New South Wales, Jurist James Wood described such sentences as "a minor inconvenience" for offenders. Although it avoided mixing first-time and petty criminals with more serious offenders, periodic detention nonetheless brought offenders together, potentially reinforcing criminogenic behaviours. Periodic detention also requires dedicated prisons, periodic detention centres, to be built. Despite these initial costs, periodic detention was over 25% less expensive than its replacement in New South Wales.

References

{{reflist Prisons Criminal justice Penal system in New South Wales Crime in New South Wales Sentencing (law)

Implementations

Australia

New Zealand

Criticism

See also

References