2.2 discuss the aims of punishment Flashcards
what does the law say the 5 aims of punishment are?
- crime reduction - deterrence
- retribution
- rehabilitation
- public protection
- reparation
retribution
what is retribution?
retribution is the idea of seeking a punishment equal to the crime
retribution
what is the aim of retributive justice?
to get criminals to understand the weight of their actions or to incapacitate them completely
retribution
what are some examples of retributive punishments?
- death penalty
- corporal punishment
- hard labour
- blood money
- whole life imprisonment tarrifs
retribution
why should the death penalty be used?
- completely incapacitates offenders
- may be seen as the only punishment which can achieve retribution (equal punishment) for the crime committed
retribution
why should corporal punishment be used?
- acts as a deterrent for others
- can achieve retribution as individuals are exposed clear pain and punishment
retribution
why should hard labour be used?
- society can complete jobs that need to be done using this
- allows individuals to be punished for theor crime whilst also performing rehabilitation as offenders effectively have a job
retribution
why should blood money be used?
- can help the family or affected individuals to pay for costs such as a funeral
retribution
why shouldnt blood money be used?
- it doesnt perform the aims of punishment very well as offenders may not be greatly affected by the sum of money theyve been made to give and it does not force offenders to think about their actions
retribution
why should whole life imprisonment tarrifs be used?
- incapacitates offenders
- apart from the death penalty, this is the harshest punishment given out so it performs retribution relatively well
retribution
what theories would see retributive justice as a good thing?
- right realism
- functionalism
retribution
what are some criticisms of retributive justice?
- it makes justice into a transaction
- it makes it more difficult to consider mitigating factors
- it prioritises punishment over treatment
- it dehumanises offenders
rehabilitation
what is rebilitation?
rehabilitation is the idea that punishment can be used to reform or change offenders so they can go on to live a crime-free life
rehabilitation
what theories link to rehabilitation?
- individualistic theories
- left realism
- biochemical theories
rehabilitation
what are the strengths of rehabilitation
- Rehabilitation focus on solving the underlying issues of why individuals commit crime such as drug addiction
- Rehabilitation allows offenders to develop skills which they can use when they are released from prison
- By showing offenders that they can be successful members of society, rehabilitation can serve as a deterrent to future criminal activity
rehabilitation
what are the weaknesses of rehabilitation?
- There are a lack of resources in prisons to effectively carry out many of the rehabilitation programmes
- Rehabilitation is not being implemented as it should be as statistics show that 53% of prisoners are in their cell for more than 22 hours a day in the week
- Statistics show that rehabilitation is not overly effective as there is a 39% recidivism rate within the first year of release and 75% within nine years
rehabilitiation
give some examples of rehabilitation programmes
- drug and alcohol treatment programmes
- token economies
- eduation such as vocational training
- anger management programmes
deterrence
what is deterrence?
deterrence is the fear of being caught and punished, which prevents individuals from committing crime
deterrence
what is general deterrence?
general deterrence aims to deter society in general from breaking the law
deterrence
what is individual deterrent?
individual deterrent is punishment to defer the individual from reoffending
deterrence
give some example of individual deterrents
fines, sentences, community service
deterrence
what is the serverity vs the certainty of punishment?
The certainity of punishment is the probability of punishment being imposed if an offence is committed
The severity reflects the magnitude of the punishment
deterrence
Why may right realists favour deterrence as an aim of punishment?
right realists believe in rational choice theory, so deterrence will make the costs of a crime higher, so the individuals make the rational choice not to commit the crime
deterrence
why would social learning theory favour deterrence as an aim of punishment?
social learning theory argues that individuals learn behaviour from watching others, so if they see others being punished for a crime, individuals are less likely to imitate the behaviour they are being punished for
deterrence
does deterrence work? - what do the statistics show?
deterrence is not overly effective
- recidivism rates of those on prison sentences 12 months or unfer is around 26%
- in the year ending March 2022, 32.2% of young offenders (10 to 17 year olds) reoffended
public protection
what does public protection aim to do to offenders?
public protection aims to incapacitate offenders?
public protection
what does it mean to incapacitate offenders?
to incapacitate an offender means to remove their physical ability to commit criminal acts
public protection
give examples of punishments which incapacitate offenders
death penalty, life imprisonment, castration, lobotomy, banishment
