Suspended Prison Sentences

This book uncovers the controversies around the suspended prison sentence, its main aims and features, and the role that it occupies within the wider criminal justice context. Suspended prison sentences were introduced in Central and Eastern European (CEE) states as alternatives to short prison sentences: although they were initially generally conceived of as exceptional penal tools, over time, they became the most imposed and dominant penal sanctions and, in that sense, a defining feature of criminal justice systems in the region.

The book provides a rich source of information about the development and features of suspended sentences in eight CEE countries, a topic that although of great importance due to their frequency, has received only scant academic attention. Employing a legal, socio-legal, and criminological approach, it achieves this goal through individual chapters on eight countries (Czechia, Estonia, Hungary, Poland, Romania, the Russian Federation, Serbia, and Slovenia), and also through two general chapters, which outline the main specificity of the region as a whole but also present nuances between different countries.

The book will be of interest to a wide variety of academic researchers who study crime, punishment, and the penal system, and especially to those interested in sentencing. Given the huge discrepancy in the frequency of use of this sanction in CEE countries and the frequency of use of parole in contemporary practice, the work provides unique insights into the potential and desirability of its wider use, particularly due to minimal supervision that it requires in examined countries. The book therefore seeks to critically inform current thinking of the value and appropriateness of particular forms of sanctions in responding to crime.

Author Biography

Jakub Drápal is an associate professor at Charles University specializing in sentencing in continental Europe, particularly in Central and Eastern Europe. He primarily uses quantitative and doctrinal methods to examine judicial discretion and promote principled sentencing—the central focus of his ERC-funded project Re-Constructing Sentencing.

Krzysztof Krajewski is professor emeritus at the Jagiellonian University in Krakow, former head of the Criminology Department at that university. He published on penal policy and sentencing issues, a.o. in Crime & Justice: A Review of Research, European Journal of Criminology, and European Journal on Criminal Policy and Research.

Milena Tripković is a Senior Lecturer in Criminology at the University of Edinburgh. Milena’s current research concerns the relationship between punishment and belonging. Her notable publications include the book Punishment and Citizenship (OUP), as well articles in journals such as the British Journal of Criminology, Punishment and Society and Journal of Applied Philosophy.