Community Service Orders and Prison Congestion in Tanzania

Abstract

There is a problem with overcrowding of inmates in Tanzania’s prisons, which community service orders could significantly reduce. However, sentencing data show that judges rarely impose community service orders for reasons not well supported by research. In this context, this study explored why law enforcement officers tend to avoid issuing community service orders. The research was carried out in Keko, Segerea, and Ukonga Prisons in Dar es Salaam. As an ethnographic study, it used a phenomenological qualitative research design. Data was collected through structured questionnaires, in-depth interviews, and documentary review from 40 respondents selected purposively and randomly. The qualitative data were analyzed using Atlas.ti software. The study found that community service orders were rarely applied to eligible offenders. It revealed that the decision to impose these orders depended more on the magistrate's discretion than on legal requirements. Consequently, magistrates often chose imprisonment over non-custodial sanctions. Based on these findings, the study recommended that the barriers preventing the use of community service orders should be addressed by all stakeholders. Enforcers should consider the benefits of this sanction for the state, offenders, society, and families of offenders.