AC 2.2

Question 1

Criminal Justice Act (2003)

Answer 1

-aims of sentencing:
1. punishment of offenders - retribution
2. reduction of crime - deterrence
3. reform and rehabilitate prisoners
4. protection of the public
5. making of reparation by offenders to persons affected by their offences

Question 2

1. Retribution

Answer 2

-punishing an offender to the level that is deserved
-public disgust
-element of revenge; society and victim are avenged
-example – death penalty, ‘an eye for an eye’
-backwards-looking
-no alteration of behaviour
LINK TO THEORY
-right realist approach – fitting method, ensures defendant is punished to appropriate level
-rational choice theory – offenders are rational actors, consciously choose to commit crimes, full responsibility for actions

Question 3

2. Rehabilitation

Answer 3

-opposite to retribution
-changing the offenders behaviour to prevent offending
-aims to reform offenders and reintroduce them to society
-forward-looking
-example – anger management courses, ART
LINK TO THEORY
-individualistic – support
-cognitive – favour CBT to teach offenders different ways of thinking
-behaviourism – supports use of token economies in prisons - positive reinforcement

Question 4

3. Deterrence

Answer 4

-puts people off offending through the fear of punishment
-individual deterrence – respect of the offender, example – suspended sentences
-statistics, 46% of adults are reconvicted within a year of release, those serving sentences of less than 12 months, increases to 59%
-general deterrence – aims to prevent society from breaking the law, people see other being punished, won’t commit the same crime, examples – public executions and media
LINK TO THEORY
-Marxism – criminality is inevitable due to capitalist society we live in, want to control working class
-social learning theory – accounts for criminality, rate of recidivism so high, prisoners learn how to commit other crimes through fellow prisoners

Question 5

4. Public protection

Answer 5

-prevents further crimes as offenders are physically restricted
-examples – imprisonment, curfew orders, electronic tagging, chemical castration
LINK TO THEORY
-biological – criminals are biologically different, would support chemical/ surgical castration to incapacitate sex offenders

Question 6

5. Reparation

Answer 6

-offender pays back society and/or the victim
-example – paying compensation order, community service
-restorative justice, scheme that brings offenders and victims together so offenders can make direct reparation
-statistics; reducing re-offending by up to a half
LINK TO THEORY
-labelling theory – favours restorative justice, enables them to see the effect of their crime, prevents them being pushed into secondary deviance
-left realist approach – may see reparation as a practical way to prevent crime, can lead to a more equal and caring society

Question 7

6. Denunciation

Answer 7

-shows people that society thinks their behaviour is unacceptable
-similar to retribution
-punishment helps to reinforce moral and ethical codes of society
-example – Shannon Matthews case; community carried out searches and marches to help find her
LINK TO THEORY
-Functionalism – punishment = a means of achieving solidarity in society, strengthens social cohesion