It costs Canada's government and taxpayers a great amount of money to house criminals in their penitentiaries. In 1999-2000, the total bill for operating the adult federal and provincial correctional system was $2.4 billion. The cost of keeping an inmate incarcerated in a federal penitentiary is about $67 700 per year. This compares to approximately $29 900 for a halfway house and $14 500 to supervise an inmate on parole. Canadians are faced with two choices. We can go along with the United States and build

There are many different alternatives to incarceration that will save the taxpayers a significant amount of money. There are many different forms of alternatives to imprisonment. Restitution allows judges to order the offenders to compensate the victims for property loss and personal injuries. This, for obvious, reasons is not used much since most criminals are not wealthy individuals. Restitution recognizes the tremendous financial impacts that crime can have on victims and ensures that compensation as part of

the normal process of sentencing. Community Service Order requires that an offender do a certain amount of hours of work in the community. This approach has been found to be far more significant, effective and less costly to taxpayers than a prison sentence. Meditation Services are also provided in cooperation with the Crown Attorney's office to provide victim/offender meditation. The victims of the crime have the opportunity to express their views directly to the offenders and the offenders themselves have the chance to learn about the consequences of their actions, and to apologize and make amends directly to the victim. Together they reach an agreement on a resolution that they feel is fair. This alternative only works provided that both parties are willing to make amends. Electr

Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 876
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)