Ac 2.2: Discuss The Aims Of Punishment Flashcards
What act are aims of sentencing contained in?
S142 of the Criminal Justice Act 2003
What aims of punishment come under the s142 of the Criminal Justice Act 2003?
Retribution, deterrence, rehabilitation, protection and reparation
What is the aim of rehabilitation?
Aims to alter the offender’s mindset so that future reoffending can be prevented
What is the aim of retribution?
Aims to punish an offender to the level that is deserved
What is the aim of reparation?
Aims to ensure the defendant pays back to the victim or society for the wrongdoing
What is the aim of deterrence?
Aims to dissuade the offender, or anyone in society from committing crime by a fear of punishment
What is meant by recidivism?
The tendency of a convicted criminal to reoffend
What is the literal meaning of retribution?
Literally means paying back. It involved punishment of an offender as vengeance for a wrong or criminal act.
What is meant by just deserts?
Offenders deserve to be punished and society is morally entitled to take its revenge
What contributes to the level of punishment someone gets?
Proportionality and moral outrage
What is meant by moral outrage?
Level of outrage from society that is justifiable against those who violate ethical values
What is meant by proportionality?
Punishment should fit the crime, should be equal to harm done, based on biblical expression “an eye for an eye”
Criticism of retribution - makes justice into a transaction
Proportionality, main reason to uphold authority of the law to discourage others of committing similar crimes
Criticism of retribution - become more difficult to consider mitigating factors
Sometimes justice demands factors to be considered for appropriate sentence, not absolving responsibility for their actions
Criticism of retribution - prioritises punishment over treatment
Mentally ill who break the law do not get treatment, but end up in CJS. 75% women & 55% men in prisons have mental health issues
Criticism of retribution - dehumanises offenders
Seen as ‘outsider’ / ‘invaders’ who have taken advantage of us - viewed as less human
Criticism of retribution - other ways…
Restorative justice - involve offenders in community to repair damages
Retribution links to theory - right realism
Rational choice theory & zero tolerance for crime - emphasise on tough control measures to reduce crime, so punishing offender is the appropriate measure
Retribution links to theory - functionalism
Main function of justice is punish guilty, this enables society to express moral outrage and strengthen social unity - allows people to know difference between right and wrong
What is rehabilitation?
Forward-looking aim, using a variety of programmes to change the future behaviour of criminals
What are the three common rehabilitation programmes?
Education and training
Anger management
Drug treatment and testing orders
What is education and training rehabilitation programme?
Courses available to help prisoners get new skills, e.g. learning to read+write, use computers and do basic maths.
How many prisoners took part in some type of education programmes between April 2019-March 2020? Number and percentage?
67,663 prisoners
48% of entire population of UK
What is ART rehabilitation programme?
Aggression Replacement Training - designed to assist individuals in improving social skills, moral reasoning, coping with and reducing aggressive behaviour.
What is drug treatment and testing orders rehabilitation programme?
Treats drug and alcohol dependency
What % of those in prison have a drug addiction?
58%
What types of sentences may include requirements for offenders to engage in rehabilitation programmes?
Community service
Who is rehabilitation most likely to work for?
First time offenders
Those with addictions or personal problems that led to criminal behaviour
Rehabilitation links to theory - individualistic, eysenck’s personality theory
Aversion therapy - helps people to give up a habit by getting them to associate them with something unpleasant
Rehabilitation links to theory - individualistic, skinner’s operant learning theory
Token economies - collect tokens and exchange them for privileges
Rehabilitation links to theory - sociological theory, left realism
Consider unemployment, poor education etc. as causes of crime and if we address these, crime will reduce
Rehabilitation criticism - right realists
Argue it only has limited success, many offenders weigh up cost and benefit of crime and decide to reoffend
Rehabilitation criticism - Marxists
Criticise programmes for shifting responsibility of offending into the individual offender’s failings - capitalism is the real problem as they exploit working class leading them to crime
What is deterrence?
Involves putting someone off committing crime - fear of being caught and punished may deter people from committing crime
What are the two types of deterrence?
Individual (also sometimes called specific)
General
What theory does deterrence link to?
Right realism - rational choice, cost-benefit analysis leads to “rational choice”
Considering deterrence, what is meant by severity?
If there is little chance of being caught and convicted, it will be unlikely to deter many would be offenders
Considering deterrence, what is meant by certainty?
If an offender is likely to be caught, then a relatively mild punishment may be an effective deterrent
What is situational crime prevention?
Making it harder to commit an offence successfully and therefore acts as a deterrent
What is individual deterrence?
Uses punishment to ensure that the offender does not reoffend
When and what was Margaret Thatcher’s Short Sharp Shock?
Government in 1980s - tough new system of juvenile detention centres aimed to deter young offenders through military-style boot camps
What did Bromley Briefings Prison Fact file 2017 discover?
46% of adults are reoffended within 1 year of release. Sentences less than 12 months this increases to 59%
What does recidivism mean?
Repeated or habitual relapse into crime
How might social learning theory account for recidivism rates, considering deterrence?
If offenders see a role model being punished for offending, they will be less likely to imitate that behaviour
What is meant by ‘university of crime’?
Prison is like a learning centre for offenders to learn more criminal skills to reoffend
What is general deterrence?
Aimed at first time offending - deterring society in general from breaking the law
How are the London Riots 2011 an example of general deterrence?
Harsher punishments to deter people from joining in on looting and criminal behaviour
What were some of the problems with London riots 2011 deterrence strategies?
Unfair/unjust - sentences were 25% higher than usual
How is the murder of Molly McLaren a criticism of deterrence?
Emotional offence - not rational even though deterrence assumes offenders act rationally
What are the 6 forms of public protection?
Execution, cutting off hands, chemical castration, banishment, travel bans and tagging
What is incapacitation?
Involves protecting the public from further offending by using punishment to remove offender’s physical capacity to offend again
How is execution a form of public protection?
Prevents offender from being around to commit further crimes whatsoever
How is cutting off hands a form of public protection?
Stops thieves from easily stealing again
How is chemical castration a form of public protection?
Stops the sex drive of sex offenders so they don’t feel the need to offend
How is banishment a form of public protection?
Sending offenders to foreign countries to protect society - Early in 19th century sent to Australia
How are travel bans a form of public protection?
Stops football hooligans from being able to travel abroad
How is tagging a form of public protection?
Restricts movement of offenders to stop them reoffending
What is the most common form of public protection?
Imprisonment - takes offenders out of general population to stop them from harming public
What is meant by americas ‘three strikes and you’re out’?
Third offence = life sentence
What act introduced mandatory minimum sentences?
Crime (Sentences) Act 1997
What is the mandatory minimum life sentence for third domestic burglary?
7 years minimum
What is the mandatory minimum life sentence for second serious sexual or violent offence?
Automatic life sentence
What is the mandatory minimum life sentence for third class A drug trafficking offence?
3 years minimum
What are some criticisms of public protection?
Harsh prison environment causes mental health problems, isolates prisoners, university of crime, costly
Public protection links to theory - biological theories
Lombroso favoured exiling repeat offenders - detaining them on islands away from public.
Other bio theories favour chemical castration to incapacitate offenders.
Public protection links to theory - right realists
With reoffending so high, small number of criminals committing all the crimes. Locking away with longer sentences reduces crime rate and protects society
How expensive is prison annually?
£51,724 per person
What is reparation?
Offender making amends for a wrong they have done - usually to victim (compensation) but sometimes society as a whole (unpaid work)
What scheme enforced financial compensation and unpaid work?
Criminal injuries compensation scheme
What is restorative justice?
Involves bringing the offender and victim together, often with the help of a mediator
Reparation links to theory - labelling theory
Restorative justice helps offenders reintegrate, remove their ‘master status’ and prevent secondary deviance rather than singling them out
Criticism of reparations?
Doesn’t work for all crime (e.g. sexual assault)
Seen as too soft of a punishment - lets offenders off lightly
Reparation links to theory - functionalists
For society to function properly everybody must be on the same page. Reparation allows the shared norms to be reaffirmed.
What is a criticism of fixed tariff penalties which may provide proportionality?
Undermines that punishment should fit crime and offender
