AC 2.3 Flashcards

1
Q

What are the 4 forms of punishment?

A
  • imprisonment
  • community
  • financial
  • discharge
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2
Q

How many are currently in prison in the UK?

A

82,000

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3
Q

What are the two types of prison sentences?

A
  • life sentence - most serious sentence
  • determinate sentences - one with a fixed length
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4
Q

What happens during a life sentence?

A
  • judge sets the minimum time an offender must spend in prison
  • the parole board will assess whether they are safe to be released
  • if so, they are released on license to follow specific rules and be supervised by probation service
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5
Q

Explain why imprisonment meets the aim of retribution?

A
  • it takes away their freedom and liberties
  • this aligns with right realism who are focused on harsh punishments
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6
Q

Explain why imprisonment does not meet the aim of retribution?

A
  • prisons are criticised for being too soft
  • it is difficult to say whether prison gives offenders their ‘just desserts’
  • how do we know exactly how long a prison sentence should be to achieve retribution
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7
Q

Explain why imprisonment meets the aim of deterrence?

A
  • lengthy sentences can deter an individual from offending or reoffending
  • being taken away from family and friends and loosing freedom may put someone off
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8
Q

Explain why imprisonment does not meet the aim of deterrence?

A
  • deterrence only works if the right realist idea is true
  • many offenders commit crime under the influence so do not consider risks beforehand
  • prisons have a poor record for reducing reoffending
    • sentence of less than 12 months 55.5% reoffend
    • sentence of more than 12 months 20.4% reoffend
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9
Q

Explain why imprisonment meets the aim of incapacitation?

A
  • while a person is in custody, they cannot commit crime, hence the aim of crime reduction being met
  • aligns with right realism eg if they get category a prison, this sentence will be focused on public protection
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10
Q

Explain why imprisonment does not meet the aim of incapacitation?

A
  • prisons can be a school for crime, prisoners acquire skills and become more criminal than before
  • very costly - costs £44,600 a year
  • prisoners can still commit crime in prison
  • organised criminals still running crime rings
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11
Q

Explain why imprisonment meets the aim of reparation?

A
  • some of the money prisoners earn goes to the national Victim Support, and pay for new support services, helping victims recover from trauma
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12
Q

Explain why imprisonment does not meet the aim of reparation (repairing society)?

A
  • in practice very few prisoners have the oppurtunity to earn money
  • in general prison does little in terms of reparation
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13
Q

Explain why imprisonment meets the aim of rehabilitation?

A
  • prisons provide oppurtunities to deal with the case of offending, preparing them for a crime free life, demonstrated in recidivism figures
  • links to left realism for which the aim is to remove the desire to reoffend
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14
Q

Explain why imprisonment does not meet the aim of rehabilitation?

A
  • recidivism rates are too high, 20.4% of those in long sentences still reoffend
  • short sentences do not give enough time to attend meaningful rehab
  • prisoners may attend as a box ticking exercise to appear well behaved
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15
Q

What are community sentences?

A

a non-custodial sentence which requires an offender to perform community service, observe a curfew, undergo treatment, instead of going to prison

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16
Q

Explain why community sentences meet the aim of retribution?

A
  • curfews and exclusion orders restrict offenders movement
  • those doing paid work have to wear high visibility vests with ‘community payback’ on the back. this public naming and shaming could act as retribution
17
Q

Explain why community sentences does not meet the aim of retribution?

A
  • many see community sentences as a ‘soft’ form of punishment, so would not accept them
  • offenders are not kept to the rules ode to their order so is not serving retribution
18
Q

Explain why community sentences meet the aim of reparation?

A
  • the damage to victim’s property is repaired
  • anyone can nominate a project within a community for offenders to work on
19
Q

Explain why community sentences meet the aim of rehabilitation?

A
  • rehab programmes can be made compulsory for any community order
  • community sentences are more effective at rehabilitating offenders and reducing recidivism than short sentences
    • reoffending for those of community order was 4% lower than for short prison sentences
20
Q

Explain why community sentences do not meet the aim of rehabilitation?

A
  • the use of community orders has declined. between 2007 and 2017. their use fell from 14% to 85, so their rehabilitative impact will be lost
  • around 50% still reoffend, so not everyone is rehabilitated
21
Q

Explain why community sentences meet the aim of deterrence?

A
  • the public naming and shaming of offender is highly visible to public so may put others off
  • the strict nature and restrictions of the orders may act as an individual deterrent against future offending
  • recidivism rates suggest community orders are acting as an individual deterrent
22
Q

Explain why community sentences do not meet the aim of deterrence?

A
  • some see community orders are ‘too soft’ and wouldn’t act as a deterrent
  • 34% of offenders reoffend after a community order so they have not been individually deterred
23
Q

What is a fine?

A

a financial penalty for reoffending, normally given for less serious offences, therefore used by magistrates court

24
Q

What does the size of a fine depend on?

A
  • how severe the crime was
  • amount is set by the court and they will take into account the financial circumstance and can be paid in instalments
25
Explain why fines meet the aim of retribution?
- literally making someone pay for their crimes, may cause financial hardship and restrictions in their personal life
26
Explain why fines do not meet the aim of retribution?
- won't have an impact on wealthy people - failure to pay, between 2009 and 2013, £237.1 million had to be written off - 61% of fines are written off or uncollected
27
Explain why fines meet the aim of deterrence?
- fines are a common way of disposing first offenders from the CJS, as they are used as a warming of worse to come if they reoffend
28
Explain why fines do not meet the aim of deterrence?
- if you are wealthy, a fine is less likely to act as a deterrent - failure to pay is also an issue for deterrence
29
What are the two types of discharges?
- conditional discharge - absolute discharge
30
What is conditional discharge?
- eg suspended sentences - offender will not be punished unless they commit another crime
31
What is absolute discharge?
- no penalty imposed usually because the defendant is morally blameless
32
What is the main aim of a discharge?
deterrence
33
Explain why discharge meets the aim of deterrence?
- they are a warning to individuals future conduct - conditional discharge means they have a threat of a sentence hanging over them - court is enough to put them off further crime