Steenkamp, his sentencing hearing has been told.
A correctional officer appearing for the defence said Pistorius should serve house arrest and community
service.
Prosecutor Gerrie Nel described the suggestion as "shockingly inappropriate".
Pistorius was found guilty of the culpable homicide of Ms Steenkamp last month - but was cleared of
murder.
The decision was criticised by the victim's family.
Pistorius faces up to 15 years in jail, although Judge Thokozile Masipa may suspend the sentence or impose a fine.
She said the athlete had acted "negligently" when he shot his girlfriend through a toilet door, but had genuinely thought her to be an intruder.
At the sentencing hearing, Joel Maringa, a corrections officer summoned by the defence, said Pistorius should perform community service and receive three years of house arrest rather than imprisonment.
"The accused will benefit from correctional supervision," Mr Maringa said, adding that this will
give him an "opportunity to restructure and modify his behaviour".
"We are basically not saying that he should be destroyed because he will still be coming back into the community," he said.
Mr Nel described Mr Maringa's suggestions as "shockingly inappropriate", adding that they would amount to "no sentence". He questioned whether Mr Maringa understood the gravity of Pistorius's crime.
Ms Steenkamp's father, Barry, held his head in his hands as Mr Maringa spoke, while her friends shook their heads in disbelief.
Lawyers for Pistorius are hoping they can prevent a jail sentence.
His psychologist, Lore Hartzenberg, was the first defence witness to speak at the sentencing hearing,
which is expected to last several days.
She described Pistorius as a "broken man" after the killing. She said he was "very emotional" during grief therapy sessions, which were often disrupted by his weeping and retching.
Mr Nel said it was "very strange" that Ms Hartzenberg was "avoiding" answering questions about Mr Pistorius having a new relationship.
Ms Hartzenberg said Mr Pistorius had never mentioned a new girlfriend in the therapy sessions.
She said she had only heard about the relationship from reports in the press.
The Paralympic sprinter had strenuously denied murdering Ms Steenkamp after a row on Valentine's Day last year, saying he shot her by mistake.
Ms Steenkamp, a 29-year-old model and law graduate, was hit three times by bullets shot through a toilet door by Pistorius at his home in the capital, Pretoria.
Court Adjourns
The first day of the sentencing hearing for Oscar Pistorius has come to an early close, with the prosecution's Gerrie Nel requesting to stand the matter down so that he has time to study the thick report which manager Peet van Zyl
compiled on Pistorius's charity work.
Judge Masipa assents, and court is adjourned until 9.30am (South Africa time) on Tuesday.
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