AC2.2- AIMS OF PUNISHMENTS Flashcards
What is retribution?
Aiming to punish the offender to the level that is deserved
Means ‘paying it back’
What are retributions aims?
To punish the offender for the crimes that they have committed
What idea is retribution based on?
Criminals should get their ‘just desserts’
-offenders deserved to be punished + society is morally entitled to take its revenge
The punishment should fit the crime- should be equal or proportionate
What does the idea of proportionality lead to?- retribution
Leads to ‘tariff system’/ fixed mandatory penalties for different offences e.g mandatory life sentence for murder
What does retribution NOT do?
Seek to alter future behaviours
What is the aim of rehabilitation?
Alter the offenders mindset- future reoffending can be prevented and can be reintroduced into society
Can reform or change offenders
What idea is rehabilitation based on?
Freewill
An individual can change their behaviour
What does rehabilitation use instead of focusing on punishing past offences?
Used various treatment programmes to change offenders future
> Address the issues which led to the offending
What do rehabilitation policies include?
Education and training programmes- can avoid unemployment, earn ‘honest living’
Anger management courses for violent offenders e.g Aggression Replacement Training (ART)
Drug Treatment
Programmes to treat alcohol dependence
What often included requirements for offenders to engage in programmes as part of a sentence?- rehabilitation
Community sentences
What is the aim of a deterrence?
Stop an offender/ anyone in society from committing a crime through FEAR OF PUNISHMENT
What is an individual deterrence?
Uses punishment to deter the individual from reoffending- may convince the offender that it’s not worth repeating
What is an example of an individual deterrence?
Suspended sentence- the term of imprisonment will only activate if future offending occurs
What is a general deterrence?
Aimed at deterring society in general from breaking the law- public will see an individual offender being punished and know what they’d suffer with similar crime
Where is the public most likely to learn about results of offending?- deterrence
Media reports
In what context would deterring not work?
If there is very little chance of being caught and convicted
What is public protection?
Punishment is used to protect public from further offending through incapacitating offenders
What does punishment for public protection aim for?
Removing the offenders physical capacity to offend again
What are examples of types of the incapacitation policy?
Curfews and electronic tagging/ restrict offenders movements
Chemical castration of sex offenders
IMPRISONMENT
What do prisons do for public protection?
Take offenders out of general population, prevents them from committing further offences against public
What is an example of a law that incapacitation for public protection has influenced?
The Crime (Sentencing) Act 1997- introduced mandatory minimum term jail sentences for repeat offenders
What is the aim of reparation?
Offender making amends for a wrong they have done, whether to an individual victim, society as a whole or both
Need to recognise wrongfulness of their actions
What is an example of making amends for material damage?
Financial compensation for victim e.g. paying costs of repairing damage done to property
Unpaid work- removing graffiti
What is Restorative Justice?- reparation
bring offenders and victims together, usually with help of a mediator
- allows victim to explain the impact of the crime
- offender can see harm they caused, express remorse
What theory does retribution link to?
Right realist
How does retribution link to right realism?
Ensured defendant is being punished to appropriate level without consideration of the reasoning behind the crime of prevention of future offending
What theory links to rehabilitation?
Individualistic theories
Why does rehabilitation link to individualistic theories?
supports rehabilitation
Skinners operant learning theory- supports use of token economies
What type of theory links to individual deterrence?
Marxism
How does individual deterrence link to Marxism?
Crime inevitable in a capitalist society
Sentences are the means to control the w/c who are heavily policed compared to u/c
What theory does general deterrence link to?
Social learning theory
How does general deterrence link to the social learning theory?
If offenders see a model being punished for offending, they will be less likely to imitate that behaviour
What theory does public protection link to?
Right realism
How does public protection link to right realism?
See incapacitation as a way of protecting public from crime
Small number of persistent offenders are responsible for majority of crimes
What type of theory does reparation link to?
Functionalists
Why does repatation link to functionalism?
Putting things back the way they were before the crime was committed is essential for a smooth functioning society
