2.3 Flashcards
What are the four sentences courts use to punish offenders
- imprisonment
- community sentences
- fines
- discharges
Imprisonment
- most serious offences or when court believe public must be protected by removing the offender from society e.g., 1/2 prisoners convicted for sex/violent acts
- 3 types of sentences: intermediate and life sentences, determinate sentences and suspended sentences
Life sentences
- life sentence: most serious punishment a court can hand out
- judge set out minimum sentence offender must spending in prison before they can be considered for a parole board if their release is safe and suitable they are released on license following certain rules
- offender remains on license for the rest of their life - if they break the terms they are brought back to prison
- mandatory life sentences must be given to offender guilty of murder. Discretionary life sentences can be given for other serious offences such as rape - in serious cases offender can be given a whole life term meaning they will never be released
Intermediate sentences
- set a minimum time the offender must serve in prison - offender have no automatic right to be released after minimum term served - parole board decide if they are suitable to released on license
- 2018 10,000 prisoners served intermediate sentence
Determinate sentence
- a fixed sentence
- if a sentence is 12 months it will be reduced to 6 months
- if more than 12 months prisoners spends half in prison and the other half on license
Suspended sentences
- offender is given a prison sentence but doesn’t go directly to prison. They may receive a suspended sentence if they would otherwise be given a prison sentence of less than 12 months.
- Sentences can be suspended for up to two years.
- The court may also impose requirements such as probation or drug addiction treatment.
- offender must meet these requirements and must not commit any further offence during the suspension period
How does retribution meet:
* imprisonment
* community sentences
* fines
* discharges
Imprisonment:
- Prison punishes people for their crimes by taking away their freedom+unhealthy living conditions
- However, it is difficult to say whether imprisonment gives offenders their ‘just desserts’. E.g., the decision of what length of sentences fits different crime. Society disagrees about the length of sentences and which offences or offenders deserve prison
Community sentences:
- must include an element of punishment or retribution e.g., curfews. Making offender suffer limits on their freedom
- doing unpaid work to wear high visibility vests with ‘community payback’ on the back. The public ‘naming and shaming’ is a form of retribution
Fines:
- Retribution Hitting someone in the pocket can be a good way to make them suffer for the harm they have done.
How does deterrence meet:
* retribution
Imprisonment:
- the risk of being sent to prisons deters would be offenders from committing crimes and actual offenders from committing further crimes
- high reoffending rates by ex-prisoners suggest that prison is not an effective deterrent for many e.g., half of adult prisoners are re convicted within a year of being released from jail
- deterrence only works if individuals are capable of thinking and acting rationally - many offences are committed under the influence of drugs or alcohol
How does public protection meet:
* retribution
* community sentences
* fines
* discharges
Imprisonment:
- it protects the public by taking offenders out of circulation: if they are in jail, they cannot harm the public.
- Imprisonment may provide public protection in several ways:
• ‘Whole life’ sentences keep offenders permanently off the streets
- Prisoners serving indeterminate sentences can be kept in jail for as long as they are deemed a danger to the public.
• There has been a trend towards longer sentences, so the public remain protected from offenders for longer. This includes mandatory minimum sentences, e.g. for a third drug trafficking or burglary offence.
- prison can be a ‘school for crime’, where prisoners acquire skills, attitudes and contacts that lead them to offend after their release and potentially to commit more serious crimes
- keeping people in prison is very costly. Critics argue that these funds could be used to pay for other ways of protecting the public.
Community sentence:
- All sentences must include public protection as one of their aims. Because community sentences do not lock offenders up, they do not achieve the aim of incapacitating offenders. However, breaches of a community sentence can lead to the offender being sent to prison.
How does reparation meet:
* retribution
* community sentences
* fines
* discharges
Retribution:
- One aim of punishment is for the offender to repair the damage caused by the offence, both to the victim and to wider society. Under the Prisoners’ Earnings 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 have caused.
However, in practice few prisoners have the opportunity to earn money in this way. In general, imprisonment does little to meet the aim of reparation.
Community sentence:
- Reparation can include doing unpaid work to repair the damage they have caused to a victim’s property. Equally, reparation may be to the whole community through unpaid work on Community Payback, e.g. removing graffiti, clearing wasteland or decorating a public building such as a community centre.
How does rehabilitation meet:
* retribution
* community sentences
* fines
* discharges
Retribution:
- Rehabilitation aims to transform offenders into law-abiding citizens, but prisons often fail in this regard. Statistics show that 48% of prisoners re-offend within a year of release, and this figure rises to 64% for those with sentences under 12 months.
Community sentences:
Community sentences address these needs through treatments and activities to improve job prospects and have been shown to be more effective in reducing re-offending than short prison sentences. For example, 34% of offenders re-offend within a year of starting a community sentence, compared to 64% for short prison terms. Despite their effectiveness, the use of community sentences has declined from 14% in 2007 to 8% in 2017.
Community sentence
Community sentences are imposed for offences which are too serious for a discharge or a fine but not so serious that a prison sentence is necessary. A Community Order given by the court will have one or more requirements, such as:
• supervision by a probation officer
• between 40 and 300 hours unpaid work (Community Payback)
• a curfew or exclusion order
• a residency requirement, e.g. to live at a supervised, probation-approved hostel
• a group programme, e.g. anger management, drink-drivers etc.
• treatment for drug or alcohol addiction (including testing), or for mental health problems.
Fines
Fines are financial penalties for offending. They are normally given for less serious offences and therefore are very often used by magistrates’ courts, but even with more serious (indictable) offences, about 15% of those found guilty receive a fine.
The size of a fine depends on the following factors:
• the offence itself The law lays down a maximum fine for a given offence
• the circumstances of the crime The Sentencing Guidelines give a range of options depending on whether it was a first offence, how much harm was done etc.
• the offender’s ability to pay A poorer defendant will probably receive a smaller fine, and/or be allowed to pay in instalments
- which court is hearing the case For example, magistrates can only impose fines up to £5,000 (or £10,000 for two or more offences).
Does fighting meet their aims?
Fines have two main aims:
* Retribution Hitting someone in the pocket can be a good way to make them suffer for the harm they have done.
* Deterrence A fine may make an offender reluctant to re-offend for fear of further punishment. As the use of fines is a common way of disposing of first offenders, fines may be used as a signal that worse will follow if they re-offend
Failure to pay
* Offenders who fail to pay their fines without good reason may face prison. Courts can deduct fines from an offender’s benefits or send in bailiffs to seize their property in the event of non-payment
* however, many fines do not get paid. For example, by 2016 the backlog of unpaid fines and court surcharges had reached £747m. Many of these are written off as uncollectable.
* This suggests that fines may not always meet their aims of punishment.
Do discharges meet their punishment aims?
- The basic aim of discharges is deterrence. They are the lowest level of punishment and are in effect a warning as to the individual’s future conduct
- In general, there is a low rate of re-offending following a discharge, especially if it was for a first offence - probably because for many first offenders, the experience of simply going to court is enough for them to mend their ways. In this respect, discharges appear to largely meet their punishment aim.
