Brazil
In September of 1998, legislation was passed that presented the following 8 alternatives to prison in Brazil: fines, week-end arrests, community service, temporary loss of rights, loss of assets or property, monetary compensation to the victim or donation to nonprofit, prohibition from certain locations, compensation of other form to the victim.

The above alternatives can be substituted for prison sentences of less than four years and may be imposed at the end of a trial or as a result of “penal transaction.”  “Penal transactions” occur before a trial when a judge offers the defendant the opportunity to suspend judicial procedure and accept one of the above alternatives, such as community service combined with compensation for the victim.

In Brazil, community service falls under a “restriction of rights” sentence.  Such a sentence can be imposed as an alternative to prison at the end of a trial or as a result of a “penal transaction” as stated above.  A regulation is that a community service order may only be used if the crime committed would normally be punishable with a prison sentence of less than one year, indicating use in cases of misdemeanors.

Chile
In Chile, alternatives to prison are used in cases of domestic violence and are dealt with by the civil courts.  The alternatives include mediation, therapy, and community service.

Costa Rica
Only about 17% of offenders in Costa Rica serve sentences of community service rather than imprisonment or confinement in semi-institutional facilities.

El Salvador
In 1998, legislation was passed in El Salvador that allowed for penal actions to be stopped in the case of property crimes and other crimes punishable by less than three years if an agreement was made by the accused and the victim.  This agreement required compensation to the victim.

The 1998 legislation also included the disposition “conversion of pretrial detention,” which states that time spent waiting for trial must be deducted from the prison sentence.  The following was the formula for the “conversion”: 1 day for every one day if detention is 6 months, 2 days for every one day if the detention is 6-12 months, and 3 days for every one day if detention is over 12 months.

Judges are obligated to substitute weekend arrests or community sentences for sentences less than a year.  Substituting these alternatives for sentences between 1-3 years is under the discretion of the judge.