EQUIVALENCY AND INTERCHANGEABILITY - THE UNEXAMINED COMPLEXITIES OF REFORMING THE FINE

Reform proposals in Canada and the United States have called for the i ncreased use of fines as a substitute for imprisonment and have assume d that sentences of fines can be made equivalent to imprisonment in se verity. This study examines the Canadian public's perceptions about th e appropriate use of fines, and examines the cultural ideology of puni shment and money. Members of the public generally accepted the substit ution of fines for imprisonment for property offences. No matter how s evere, fines were not seen as appropriate for minor violent or sexual offences. This paper suggests that when denunciation is desired, fines are not viewed as appropriate to accomplish this goal in sentencing. Both the severity and the social and cultural contexts of penalties ne ed to be explored. These findings suggest that we must think of sancti ons as multi-dimensional when making attempts at sentencing reform.