01840 2200277 4500 409059 2059-1098 409059 20241204d kkky0pory50 ba eng GB Reducing prison Ssntencing through pre-sentence reports? why the quasi-market logic of ‘selling alternatives to custody’ fails Cyrus Tata A central aim of successive generations of penal reformers and governments has been to reduce the use of imprisonment in relatively less serious cases. In their various guises, pre-sentence reports (PSRs) have been a key vehicle to promote non-custodial ‘alternatives’ to the judicial sentencer. Yet, after decades of pursuing this strategy, a significant reduction in prison sentencing remains elusive. This article suggests that the failure of this policy strategy is, at least in part, rooted in its quasi-market logic. It tends to construct the judicial sentencer as a metaphorical consumer in a penal marketplace, to whom the report writer must convincingly ‘sell alternatives’ to custody. Applying and developing theories of consumption as a cultural practice, it is proposed that, by its very nature, a consumerist model is bound to fail to deliver penal reduction. Howard 2018 p.472-494 Journal of Crime & Justice Vol. 57, nº 4 PENAS ALTERNATIVAS MEDIDAS ALTERNATIVAS PRISÃO PREVENTIVA RELATÓRIO PRÉ-SENTENCIAL PROBATION SENTENÇA 343.8 Tata Cyrus Senior Lecturer in Law, Centre for Sentencing Research, Law School, Strathclyde University, Glasgow, Scotland, PT RPC 343.8TAT 0 343_000000000000000_8TAT 2024-12-04 9814 480670 DGRSP DGRSP DGRSP9814 343.8TAT 2024-12-04 0 AP