Prison sentences of 2 years or less can be imposed conditionally, provided that "the maintenance of general respect for the law" does not require an unconditional sentence. A special provision allows use of an unconditional sentence for offenders under the age of 18 only if certain extraordinary reasons call for it. The suitability of conditional sentence for younger age groups has been criticized on the grounds that young offenders do not regard this form of sentence as a sanction at all. The paper examines the empirical foundations of this critique by examining the reconviction rate of those who receive conditional sentences. The paper concludes that conditional sentencing in general works well and should be maintained in the Finnish sentencing system in its present form. However, the present sentencing system lacks required alternatives for young offenders, forcing the courts to use conditional sentences repeatedly for high-risk juveniles in a way that may undermine the credibility of the sentencing system. From this point of view, the new non-custodial sentencing option for juveniles introduced by the legislature in 1997 ("juvenile penalty") may well serve its purpose.