There are many alternatives today that provide efficient ways of retribution. These alternatives will enforce a normal lifestyle to an extent. While going to meetings, or having to check in with a parole officer, these offenders get to make amence in a different way. Based on the crime, there are many different alternatives for each offender. The age of the person also contributes to their alternate sentence. There are two separate categories in which people are placed. One is for adults over 18, and the other is for minors under the age of 18. There are, in certain circumstances, crimes where a minor is actually tried as an adult. This is where the severity of the crime is investigated, and where the minor's record and behavior play major roles. Minors also may get a shorter and less strict sentence than an adult. A few of the programs for adults are the Community Rehabilitation Order, Community Punishment Order, and the Electronic Monitoring/Home Detention Order. Alternatives for under 18 include Intensive Supervision and Surveillance Programs, Suspension Orders, Reparation Orders, and the Action Plan Order (Payback).
The Community Rehabilitation Order is also known as the Probation Order. This is where the offenders are placed under tight supervision of an officer. About 56,000 people a year are given this sentence (Rethinking). This is a helpful way to allow the offender to make amence for what he/she has done, while still allowing them to participate as a regular citizen. It it stretched over a period of 6 months to 3 years, and it gives the offender time to take responsibility for the crimes they commited and the damages that they produced. Also, it is not only just being supervised. Some offenders have to visit regular meetings and explain exactly how they feel and how they plan on continuing. This alternative is a somewhat costly $3,000, but can be easily paid if the offender has a steady job while on probation.