0442541_CORRPocketBook11Add3.qxp 14.09.2005 13:47 Page 21 Consideration should be given where possible to dealing with offenders in the community, without resort to the courts.151 Non-custodial measures should be used in accordance with the principle of minimum intervention.152 Any form of release from an institution to a non-custodial programme shall be considered at the earliest possible stage.153 There should be suitable mechanisms to facilitate linkages between services responsible for non-custodial measures and other relevant agencies in the criminal justice system, social development and welfare agencies, both governmental and non-governmental, in such fields as health, housing, education and labour, and the mass media.154 The criminal justice system should provide a wide range of non-custodial measures, from pre-trial to post-sentencing dispositions, in order to avoid the unnecessary use of imprisonment.155 Pre-trial detention shall be used as a means of last resort in criminal proceedings, and alternatives to pre-trial detention should be employed as early as possible.156 The number and types of non-custodial measures available should be determined in such a way that consistent sentencing remains possible.157 21