AC2.2 Flashcards
what are the aims of punishment?
judges and mag must consult section 142 of the criminal justice act 2003 which sets the key aims of sentencing:
retribution
reparation
rehabilitation
deterrence
denuciation
protection of the public
what is retribution?
the punishment is seen as a display of public revulsion for the offence. punishment is a way for society and victims to get some kind of justice or compensation for what the offender did to them. “an eye for and eye, a tooth for a tooth”. the severity of the crime should determine the harshness of the sentence. its only fair that the offender should be made ti suffer for their wrong doings. example - prisons, hard labour and the death penalty.
theories link to retribution
right realism - this linked to rational choice theory and sees people as rational actors who consciously choose to commit crime. they are therefore fully responsible for their actions. it is fitting that they are therefore punished to suffer the outrage of society for their choices
functionalism - Durkheim would say that retribution allows the expression of the moral outrage of society. it allows a release of the anger and hurt suffered. this helps to reinforce social norms and expectation of the group and punish deviance.
criticisms for retribution
it can be argued that offenders deserve forgiveness, mercy or a chance to make amends, not just punishment. if there is a fixed tariff of penalties, punishment has to be inflicted even where no good is going to come of it, examples on a remorseful offender who will commit no further crimes. how do we decide what is a proportionate penalty or ‘just desert’ for each crime? people disagree about which crimes are more serious than others.
what is rehabilitation?
the view of sentencing criminals constrasts with retribution as it is ‘forward looking’. the point of sentencing is to help the person change their behaviour for the future and join back into society.
theories linked to rehabilitation?
Eysenck’s personality theory (High N,E and P scale) - this would support use of behaviour modification techniques such as aversion theory
skinners operant theory - would support the idea that behaviour can be modified and changed particularly if the person can see reward towards the end. cognitive behavioural theory to change ‘faulty’ thinking process.
left realism - would support the idea of helping people into work etc because crime has happened due to social inequalities, poverty and poor educational opportunities.
criticism of rehabilitation
right realism - argue that rehabilitation has only limited success, in that many offenders go on to re-offend even after undergoing programmes aimed at changing their behaviour.
marxists - criticise rehabilitation programmes for shifting the responsibility for offending onto the individual offender’s failings, rather than focusing on how capitalism leads some people to commit crime.
what is deterrence?
the idea that the purpose of punishment is to put people off committing offences because the consequence are unpleasant. aims to reduce offending in the first place. example - prison as a consequence may deter people and modify their behaviour.
what is individual deterrence?
adminstered to the particular individual to put them off again.
what is general deterrence?
people in the community witness someone being punished and this deters them from committing crimes to avoid punishment themselves. in the past people were publically executed - in the stock, executions, floggings. today people might deter by reading about things in the media
what is severity vs certainly?
how severe a punishment maybe, if there very little chance of being caught and convicted, then it is unlikely to deter people from offending. on the other hand, if an offender is very likely to be caught, even a mild punishment may be an effective deterrent.
deterrence linked to theories
right realism - rational choice theory regards people as actors who assess the cost and benefits of behaviour before deciding to break the law or not. severe punishments could therefore deter the offender.
operant theory - act as an individual deterrence
social learning theory - act as a general deterrent.
what is public protection?
otherwise known as incapacitation. making it physically impossible for criminals to offend again. all in the interests of protecting society.
extreme vs less extreme
extreme - execution, banishment, physically cutting off hands, chemical castration of sex offenders
less extreme - curfews, electronic tags, driving ban, travel ban.
prison as public protection
most common form of incapacitation offenders removed from society. the crime(sentences) act of 1997 introduced standard sentencing for specific offence. the WA 2003 says prisons is partly meant for public protection. introduced ‘indeterminate sentences’ for people deemed a danger to society. particularly of violent/sexual offences
