Citation

Hucklesby A. J. Law Soc. 2009; 36(2): 248-271.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2009, John Wiley and Sons)

DOI

10.1111/j.1467-6478.2009.00465.x

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

The focus of this paper is on offenders' compliance, which is an important but largely neglected area of criminal justice. The paper draws on an empirical study of offenders' compliance with electronically monitored curfew orders with the aim of elucidating theories of compliance. Electronic monitoring is used as a case study to illustrate some of the factors which influence offenders' compliance. One of the main strengths of electronic monitoring is the certainty and speed at which non‐compliance can be detected and, as expected, instrumental compliance was found to be important. Nonetheless, the paper suggests that the reasons why offenders comply or fail to comply are complex and interrelated and encompass many different factors including procedural justice, individual motivation, and attachments to significant others. The implications of these findings for compliance theories and community sentence policy are explored.