Community Service Sentences from A Psychologist's Perspective: meeting of Psychology and Law

The study of human history allows us to observe the use of various forms of punishment throughout the ages. Long prison sentences served as the main penal response to crimes. With the failure of the prison system, the State has been concerned with reformulating the punishment system, and alternative penalties represent a significant advance in these ideas. To monitor these penalties, psychologists are called upon to join the technical team and enforce compliance. Based on this context, we sought to understand the meaning of Community Service for psychologists who work in its execution. More specifically, we analyzed, through the discursive productions of psychologists, the meaning attributed to the role of these professionals in Community Service, as well as their relationships with other fields of knowledge.