I think it is a thousand times better, if they are not a threat to public safety, to keep them in the community with a conditional sentence, which is a custodial penalty; so as soon as they violate one of the conditions, public safety is protected because of how quickly they can be placed behind bars. If they're in the community, it instructs them, guides them and coaches them towards more pro-social conduct. They can be facing curfews; they can be facing a great number of stringent conditions. If you can get them to adjust to that lifestyle, you are well on the way of supporting rehabilitation and more effective reintegration and greater community safety in the long run than if they had been in prison and released without the supports.
