PENA ALTERNATIVA COMO INSTRUMENTO DE POLíTICA CRIMINAL

This scientific paper aims, with legislative and doctrinal footstool, to analyze the usefulness of the alternative penalty in the context of Brazilian criminal politics. For a better analysis of the alternative penalty, we attempted to treat the legislative situation, historically and today, about this kind of sanction in Brazil andinfluence suffered by Rules of Tokyo. After, the search was to differentiate alternative measure of alternative punishment. Care was taken also to demonstrate the use of alternative sentences such as translation of the principle of last resort. We considered the objectives, advantages and disadvantages of the alternativesentence, with collation of data obtained from the official DEPEN (National Penitentiary Department) and the FUNPEN (National Penitentiary Fund) on recidivism and costs to criminal justice system, beyond the contribution of findings from the sociological sciences.