Crime Prevention through Social Finance and Social Impact Bonds

Abstract

The rate of adoption of the Social Impact Bonds (SIBs) remains substantially low despite the perceived public attention. Even considering widespread interest in the SIBs model, the low adoption mode suggests that the program is still in its early diffusion phase. In a bid to reduce or control crime rates, the SIBs model represents one of the strategies geared toward social reforms. It was initially piloted in 2010 at Peterborough prison with private financing for crucial social programs. The government could only pay returns to successful programs as an underlying condition. Besides its adoption in the United Kingdom, several states in the United States borrowed similar SIBs programs. This paper examined various aspects of measures of converting cases of recidivism into valuable financial assets and the shortcomings of such programs within the domain of the criminal justice department.