Recently in Community Service Category

http://www.cnn.com/2010/LIVING/04/12/prison.farmers/index.html

Here is a website that talks about the Florida Department of Corrections and how the inmates are becoming farmers 5 times a week. They go to the University of Florida Research and Education Center to water and harvest the crops that they have. The inmates get to keep what they harvest in return for their work. This has cut the cost of food that is needed for the inmates in prison, because they no longer have to order vegetables from other places. Having the inmates work on the farms helps them gain respect and work ethic, so those who are in prison for non-violent acts will be able to get out and find a job easier.

I think this is a great idea, because it is cheap labor and the inmates will be able to gain knowledge of farming and will be able to find jobs once they are released from prison. This also helps get the inmates out of the prison "world" and lets them have a chance to see what is outside the prison walls.

Often times, we think of criminal sentencing as either going to jail or paying a fine. Another avenue of punishment is community service. This type of punishment is more rare, and is usually reserved for first time offenders, petty crimes, and other circumstances. Although it has its criticisms, the goals of community service programs are to reintroduce good behavior and promote accountability of a person to his or her community. Instead of taking away a community's resources to fund a jail, the community is benefiting from the efforts of these petty criminals.

Although some people may think that most criminals should be punished by jailtime, I disagree. Assuming, of course, that the court is able to accurately judge the potential of future criminal activities by a convicted criminal, I think that community service is a viable option for many. Again, this would require the discretion of the courts.

I found a very interesting article that talks about community service in China. Other countries are seeing the benefits of our system and implementing it abroad:

http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/en/doc/2003-11/13/content_281363.htm