A Rockwool Foundation analysis seems to show that people sentenced to house arrest with ankle bracelets, or community service, do better on the labour market after their release than those sentenced to terms behind bars.

“Some will have the same job before, during and after their terms. Over and above that, it is more of a social stigma to have been in prison. It is clearer to employers that you have done something criminal,” says Rockwool Foundation Project Manager Signe Hald Andersen.

Apart from ankle bracelets, those sentenced to community service can also expect to earn more, and be less on transfer incomes than those sentenced to traditional prison sentences – particularly those serving time for violence or drunken driving.

The survey shows that those sentenced to community service have an 18 per cent higher wage, and their dependency on transfer payments is 20 per cent less than those sentenced to prison, although the differences do not become evident for the first couple of years.

Five years after being sentenced to community service, those so sentenced earn on average DKK 22,000 more than those put behind bars on similar offences.

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