Shock incarceration

The shock incarceration is a short-term imprisonment usually applied to a first-time convict under the theory that it may have better rehabilitation results than a mere suspended sentence. In Estonian legal practice, a few weeks or months of an imprisonment that would otherwise be either immediate or suspended can be converted into shock incarceration, and the trial courts are empowered to decide individually on every case whether it would be appropriate. The rest of the full term will remain suspended, and will not be enforced if the convict does not commit new crimes during a set term, usually a few years.