2.2

Question 1

What are the aims of punishment?

Answer 1

• Retribution
• Rehabilitation
• Deterrence
• Reperation
• incapacitation/public protection

Question 2

1) Who sets out the purpose of sentencing for those aged over 18?

2) the court must have regard to:…?

Answer 2

1) The Criminal Justice Act 2003 (s142)
2) punishment
reduction of crime (by deterrence)
reform and rehabilitation
protection of the public
reparation by offenders to their victims

Question 3

Kant believed the sole aims of sentencing was to (1). Sentencing guidelines are clear that prison should only be considered as a (2), particularly for (3)

Answer 3

1) punish offenders
2) last resort
3) young adults

Question 4

Describe retribution

Answer 4

• Society is enacting revenge for the offence by making the offender suffer, and the level of suffering should be proportionate to the seriousness of the offence.
• This is based on the biblical notion of an ‘eye for an eye’, that the offender should in some way pay for their actions.
• Many people see prison as the best possible option in this sense and alternatives to prison are often criticised as soft options.

Question 5

Explain what theories retribution links to
(Just need one link to each aim and links to theory can be used as strengths/discussion E.g. right realists think this..)

Answer 5

Right realism:
The offender’s social bonds are weak and the offender unable to control their criminal urges; no consideration is given to the reason for the criminal activity nor to the prevent of future offending. Rational choice=outrage at chosen behaviour.
Functionalism:
Moral outrage that retribution expresses acts as boundary maintenance. By punishing the offender everyone else is reminded of the rights and wrongs of acts.

Question 6

What are examples of retribution?

Answer 6

Prison (mandatory life sentences), death penalty, curfew, fines and unpaid work
are examples of punishment as is the increase of a sentence for a ‘hate crime’.

Question 7

Explain some positive discussion points for retribution

Answer 7

• ensures justice for victims as punishment must be proportionate to the crime
  (Also protects public as removes the problem from society + acts as a form of deterrence but not sure about these points)

Question 8

Explain some criticisms of retribution

Answer 8

• makes justice into a transaction: can’t quantify the harm caused by offender
• makes it difficult to consider mitigating factors E.g. in murder cases
• prioritises punishment over treatment: not helping them change ( 73% of women and 56% of men have mental health conditions in prison)
• restorative approach to justice is more appropriate as helps support/change offender
• consistently in US death penalty states have a higher murder rate
• may dehumanise offenders as can make us view them as less than human and isolated them from society (can’t reintegrate back into society) so more likely to reoffend

Question 9

Explain the Stanley Tookie Williams case study as a criticism of retribution

Answer 9

• Stanley Tookie Williams convicted of murdering 4 people during 2 robberies and sentenced to death row.
• While on death row:
  -wrote 9 children’s books educating children to avoid gangs and crime
  -wrote The Tookie protocol for peace
  -saved over 150,000 youths lives who were preparing to join gangs or got out of a gang
  -nominated for Nobel Peace prize 5 times
• executed by lethal injection in 2005

Question 10

Describe rehabilitation

Answer 10

• (reform) aims at changing the offender’s behaviour to prevent future crime and to reintroduce them into society ( should leave prison better adjusted and ready to take their place back in society)
• it’s forward-looking
• Prison should provide opportunities to develop skills and training or to access treatment programmes (e.g. for drug addiction or anger), as well as give the offender the chance to reflect on their offence.

Question 11

What theories does rehabilitation link to?
(Only need 1 link)

Answer 11

• Individualist theories:Friedrich Nietzche
  John Stuart Mill.
• Eysneck Personality theory promotes behaviour modification. Operant conditioning as well as Left realism link to rehabilitation.

Question 12

Provide examples of rehabilitation

Answer 12

anger management courses and drug treatment.

Question 13

Explain the history of rehabilitation

Answer 13

● In 1779 the British Government passed the Penitentiary Act, which made the rehabilitation of criminals a function of all prisons
● Offender rehabilitation was first tried in the Victorian period when prisons started to have education programmes but only really became common from the 1970s.
● Michel Foucault- punishment shifted over time from the disciplining of the body to the disciplining of the “soul”
● Offender rehabilitation previously was directed at ‘reforming the character’ of prisoners, its focus is now on preventing reoffending.

Question 14

As positive discussion points for rehabilitation, explain some rehabilitation programmes offered in England and Wales

Answer 14

• thinking skills programme (TSP): A cognitive skills programme which addresses the way offenders think and their behaviour associated with offending. The programme aims to reduce reoffending by engaging and motivating, coaching and responding to individual needs and building on continuity. It supports offenders developing skills in setting goals and making plans to achieve these without offending.
• Becoming new me (BNM):a treatment approach for medium or higher risk intellectually disabled sexual offenders. Aims to help offenders to understand how and why they committed their offences and targets the areas known to be related to reoffending. It encourages men to work on developing the skills necessary to build an offence free future.
• Drink impaired drivers (DID): challenges attitudes and behaviour, aiming to reduce drink driving. Through self monitoring of an offender’s drinking it aims to increase the knowledge of alcohol and its effects; promote safer driving and create a change in behaviour and attitude towards alcohol use and driving. Also aims to raise awareness of the effects on victims, victims families and the offender themselves.

Question 15

Explain some positive discussion point for rehabilitation

Answer 15

• 31% of people who do these programmes reoffend in comparison to 60% of adults serving less than 12 months (in prison) reoffend within 1 year
• focus on treatment and tackling root problem instead of just making them feel like a bad person who can’t change and so helps them reintegrate back into society
• public protection ?

Question 16

Explain criticisms of rehabilitation

Answer 16

• gender bias: less rehabilitation programmes targeted at women
• biological and right realism argue people are born criminal. This would suggest there is no point in rehabilitation
• lack of funding restricts how much effective rehabilitation can take place -> 3% of prisoners who have identified drug/alcohol problems get access to rehabilitation programmes (in prison)
• right realists say programmes don’t stop offenders from reoffending
• Marxists argue programmes shift responsibility for offending onto individuals instead of how capitalism causes crime

Question 17

Describe deterrence

Answer 17

• The unpleasant prison experience is designed to put off the individual (or society at large) from engaging in offending behaviour. Deterrence works on two levels: general deterrence aims to send a broad message to members of a given society that crime will not be tolerated. Individual deterrence should prevent the individual from repeating the same offences in light of their experience. In other words, this view is based on the behaviourist idea of conditioning through vicarious punishment
• forward-thinking approach
  (aimed at reducing recidivism and first time offending)

Question 18

Explain what theories link to deterrence

(Only need 1 link)

Answer 18

• social learning theory:
  Offenders learning from others’ mistakes to deter criminality.
• Marxists view:
  Criminality is inevitable and would argue that such harsh sentencing reflects the bourgeoisie controlling the proletariat who are more heavily policed

Question 19

What are examples of deterrence?

Answer 19

Prison, life sentences. Loss of licence

Question 20

Explain the case of Lavina Woodward in relation to deterrence

Answer 20

Lavina Woodward:
- charged with GBH/unlawful wounding after stabbing boyfriend and charged with 10 months but got 18 months suspended sentenced as judge deemed her as “too clever” and the crime as a “complete one-off”
- however, public thought it was due to her background and because she was aspiring to be a surgeon
- isn’t deterrence as case shows that if someone is middle class, remorseful or if have a “promising career” they may be able to avoid punishment

Question 21

Explain the case of Pudit kittithradilok in relation to deterrence

Answer 21

Pudit kittithradilok:
- was a Thai fraudster who was sentenced to 13,275 years in prison
- he admitted to running a Ponzi scheme, as he confessed his sentenced was halved to 6,637 years
(however likely to only serve 20 years as under thai law he can only serve a max of 10 years for each of the 2 crimes he was convicted of)
- this is general deterrence as it will deter the public from committing crimes as the ridiculous sentence will put them off

Question 22

Explain the criticisms of deterrence

Answer 22

• states with death penalty have higher murder rates in US
• the certainty/likelihood of being caught is a vastly more powerful deterrent than (severity of) punishment. (Effectiveness of deterrence is linked to perceived likelihood of detection).
• statistics suggest that criminals on average commit __ crimes before they are detected
• sending an individual convicted of a crime to prison isn’t a very effective way to deter crime. Prisons are good for punishing criminals and keeping them off the street, but prison sentences (particularly long sentences) are actually unlikely to deter future crime. Prisons actually may have the opposite effect: inmates learn more effective crime strategies from each other and time spent in prison may desensitise many to the threat of future imprisonment
• general deterrence depends on publicity given for exemplary sentences
• rational choice- isn’t rational. Emotions, temperament, cognitive development

Question 23

Give an example of deterrence in America

Answer 23

In America if commit 3 offences punishable by prison you are put in prison forever (3 strike rule)

Question 24

Explain some positive discussion points for deterrence?

Answer 24

Works/effective for specific cases such as loss of license for speeding or fines on car parks

Question 25

describe public protection

Answer 25

The offender is taken out of society to prevent them reoffending as a means of protecting the public. The need for incapacitation is likely to depend upon the severity of the offence and the nature of the offender. For instance, individuals in society will require more protection from a serial murderer or rapist than an elderly person who refuses to pay their council tax

Question 26

What theory does public protection link to?

Answer 26

Right realism
suggests a sentence is required to protect the public because social constraints on behaviour are weak so stricter social control is required to protect others.

Question 27

Give examples of public protection

Answer 27

prison sentence, restricting activities such as disqualification from driving, curfew or electronic tagging. In some UK prisons chemical castration is used on sex offenders or the sex offender disclosure scheme.

Question 28

Explain IPP’s as a discussion point for public protection

Answer 28

• given minimum tarif but not a maximum. Have to prove themselves to not be a danger to society to be released
• on license for atleast 10 years and can easily get recalled
• IPP given for minor/low level offences even thought meant for high level/serious offences (that just about can’t get life)
• not given enough rehabilitation programmes to do and difficult to get on
• can lead to mental health issues E.g. psychosis
• IPP now been banned as breach human rights but about 2,500 still in prison on IPP
• IPPs aren’t effective when used in low level offences but would be useful for high level offences such as terrorism, murder, etc if used right

Question 29

Explain chemical castration (not imprisonment but incarceration) in America (Alibama specifically) as a discussion point

Answer 29

• anyone who’s sexually abused someone under 13 released on parole must receive chemical castration 1 month before release and must continue to recieve in Alibama
• deserving anything needed to prevent reoffending = a right realist view

Question 30

Explain case study of Usman Khan as a discussion point for public protection

Answer 30

• Usman Khan first charged with planning a terrorist attack/trying to set up a terrorist training camp in Pakistan in 2011
• he was released after serving 8 years as a judge said they were “mischaracterised as more dangerous then other defendants”
• he was given an IPP and should’ve been kept in prison but the MI5 didn’t tell the prison that they thought he was just pretending to be rehabilitated
• he was allowed to go into Central London to participate in the Cambridge University learning together “five year celebration”
• he stabbed 2 event workers in the chest, killing them and injured 3 more. He was wearing a fake suicide bomb and threatened to blow up the London Bridge but he was shot to death by armed police

Question 31

describe reparation

Answer 31

(‘pay back’) involves compensating the victim of the crime or making amends to society as a whole. This includes restorative justice giving the victims the chance to tell the offender the impact of their crime, find out the reason for the offence and receive an apology

Question 32

Explain what theory links to reparation

Answer 32

Left realism
contributing to a long-term change toward a more equal and caring society.

Question 33

Provide examples of reparation

Answer 33

direct apology, letter, community order for unpaid work

Question 34

Reparation:
Explain compensation through courts

Answer 34

Takes the form of cash payments to the victim for theft or damage to property (if offender has resources). Often paid in irregular instalments and seldom in full, leaving victims frustrated and having to pursues the payments through civil action. Compensation through mediation is nearly always paid as offenders understand what the money is needed for

Question 35

Reparation:
Explain direct reparation through practical work

Answer 35

Sometimes mediation can identify a practical way of making amends to the victim, like removing graffiti or mending broken fences and windows. E.g. some shops which have been victims of shoplifting have asked their offenders to work for them to repay debt and see the impact of what they’ve done

Question 36

Reparation:
Explain direct reparation through apologises and symbolic reparation

Answer 36

• Some victims feel apology is more important than tangible reparation.
• important apology is sincere or may feel just doing it to look good or feel it’s expected
• reparation doesn’t need to be a direct repair of harm done. Some unable to compensate for items damaged or stolen or damage already repaired. So can take a symbolic form such as a letter of apology, flowers, chocolate, etc

Question 37

Reparation:
What is restorative justice?

Answer 37

A process that brings those harmed by crime or conflict and those responsible for the harm into communication, enabling everyone affected by a crime to play a part in repairing the harm and finding a positive way forward

Question 38

Reparation:
What are the positive discussion points for restorative justice

Answer 38

• mediation addresses victims need for: reassurance that offence will not happen to them again, an explanation as to why they were chosen, putting a face to crime and ask questions to offenders, opportunity to explain how crime affected them, an apology and some form of reparation if appropriate
• 85% satisfaction rate for all victims
• Heather Strang stated “the reduction in the frequency of reoffending is 27% when offenders completed RJ”
• it’s forward looking as focused on future (what can be done)
• considers the interests of victims and offenders. Seeks to support, empower, heal victims and holds offender accountable in a constructive way
  -favours restitution over retribution- respond to injury of victim by trying to repair and restore the victim instead of injuring the offender

Question 39

What are the criticisms of reparation

Answer 39

• may not work for all types of offences-compensation straight forward for property damage but for murder reparation is impossible
• limited, not everyone can/will take part
• RJ- possible re victimisation - vulnerable victim meets offender may result in another offence E.g. domestic abusers may try continue connection and abuse
• the potential for uneven or discriminating outcomes for sentencing and restitution
• inability to prevent recidivism

Question 40

What factors can influence views on punishment

Answer 40

• Actions of individuals and pressure groups:In the past, for eg, Elizabeth Fry did a huge amount to reform prisons and the objectives of putting people in prison. Today, groups like the Howard League for Penal Reform pressure the gov to improve punishments
• The media:Newspaper have hugely influenced public views since the 18th century and made them more aware of crime, for example about ending capital punishment in the 1950s and 60s and in terms of campaigns for tougher sentences for terrorists and paedophiles
• Social changes: for example in the past, during the Industrial Revolution and later during the decline of the inner cities in the inter-war period social problems were created which led to crime but also greater public awareness and sympathy. Some things which were acceptable in the past, such as domestic abuse or drink driving are also not acceptable any more
• New ideas in Education and Politics:for example the Enlightenment led to more humane attitudes. Liberalism in the 19th and 20th century led to a more tolerant attitude and Socialism in the 20th century gave greater sympathy to the working class poor. Left realism is influenced by socialism and right realism by conservative views
• Governments have been influenced by all these factors in to changing their policies and making new laws about how people should be punished.