2.3 Flashcards
what are the 4 forms of punishment
imprisonment
community service
fines
discharges
what are the types of life sentences
1 life: indeterminate sentences - where the judge sets a minimum time that the offender must spend in prison before they are considered for release by the parole board. They are released on license for rest of their lives and if they breach it they go back to prison
2 mandatory life sentence - murderers who never get released
what are determinate sentences
determinate sentences - fixed length and most common. if the sentence is under 12 months the offender is usually released halfway through. if its 12 months or longer, they spend the first half in prison and the second half in community on license
what are suspended sentences
they are given a prison sentence but aren’t sent to prison, it can be suspended for up to 2 years and given requirements such as probation or drug addiction treatment. they can’t commit other offences during of they’ll go to prison
eg in 2019 - 15% of those convicted of a serious offence received a suspended prison sentence
does imprisonment meet the aims of PUNISHMENT
retribution and deterrence
retribution - prison punishes them by taking away their freedom BUT it can be debated if it gives them their ‘just deserts’ eg how long the sentence is
deterrence - the risk of being sent to prison deters ‘would be’ offenders BUT there are high reoffending rates which means that prison is not a good enough deterrance. its only going to work if they are capable of acting and thinking rationally but when you are drunk rationality goes out the window
eg in 2020/21 25% of released offenders re offended
does imprisonment meet the aims of PUNISHMENT
public protection and reparation
public protection - if they are in jail, they cant harm anyone BUT prisons can be a school of crime where prisoners learn new skills and contacts which leads to reoffending or committing more serious crimes
reperation - offender reparing the damage caused by their offence. under the PRISONERS EARNING ACT 2011, prisoners who are permitted to work outside of prison to prepare for their eventual release can be made to pay a proportion of their earnings towards the cost of victim support services, forcing prisoners to take responsibility for the harm they caused BUT few prisoners have the opportunity to earn money in this way so it isnt doable
does imprisonment meet the aims of PUNISHMENT
rehabilitation
prisons arent good fat directly reducing reoffending.
- 48% of prisoners re-offend within a year of release
- over 6,500 prisoners were called back to prison for breaching their license conditions in 2019
WHY - short sentences: nearly half of all sentences are 6 months or less which is not enough time to figure out what causes offending. prison is less effective than community services
WHY - education: over half of prisoners have the literacy skills of an 11 year old so its hard to prepare them to get a job when released when education opportunities are limited
what are fines
financial penalties for offending
- less serious offences, often used in magistrates court
- even with more serious offences, 15% of those found guilty, received a fine
what does the size of the fine depend on
offence - the law gives a max fine for an offence
circumstances - eg first time offence
offenders ability to pay - poorer defendant will receive a smaller fine and be allowed to pay in instalments
which court hears it - magistrates can only chafe £5000 per offence
do fines meet the aims of PUNISHMENT
retribution
deterrence
retribution - make them pay for what they’ve done
deterrence 0 a fine may make them reluctant to re-offend because the fines get worse for a second time offender
failure to pay a fine (deterrence)
FAILURE TO PAY: may face prison - but many fines still don’t get paid
EG 2019 the backlog of unpaid fines reached over £600 million because many are written off as uncollectible
negative to fines
don’t always meet the punishment aims because they are either too high to ever pay or people know they can get away with not paying them
what are community sentences
sentences that are too serious for discharge but not bad enough for prison
it requires supervision from a probation officer
can be between 40-300 hours of unpaid work
curfew
do community sentences meet its aims of punishment
retribution
public protection
retribution - a curfew gives limits on offenders freedom and wearing high vis vests on saying ‘community payback’ shames offenders
public protection - they aren’t locked up but if they breach the conditions they can be sent to prison
do community sentences meet its aims of punishment
reperation.
rehabilitation
reparation - unpaid work to prepare the damage they caused to victims property eg clearing graffiti
rehabiliation - offenders have many complex needs g homelessness drug misuse, mental health or unemployment which are often the reason for offending. community service may aim to rehabilitate these during. they have been found to be more effective at rehab than short prison sentences
