Ac2.3 - Assess How Forms Of Punishment Meet The Aims Of Punishment Flashcards
Name the different types of punishments
Imprisonment
Community sentence
Fines
Discharges
Imprisonment - life sentences
- a life sentence is the most serious punishment in the UK court can hand down
- the judge sets a minimum time which the offender must spend in prison before they can be considered for release by the Parole Board
- the Board assess whether their release is suitable and safe
- if a prisoner is released, they are released on licence and have to follow specific conditions, while being supervised by the Probation Service
- defender will remain on licence for the rest of their life - if they break the terms of their licence they will be recalled back to prison
Imprisonment - indeterminate sentences
- this is a minimum time the offender must serve in prison
- offenders have no automatic rights to be released after the minimum term has been served
- The Parole Board will decide if the offender is suitable to be released on licence
Imprisonment - indeterminate sentences (continued)
- IPP
- IIP (Imprisonment for Public Protection) prisoners - the CJA 2003 allowed offenders to continue to be detained indefinitely after they had served their minimum sentences
- 2012 IPP sentences were ruled unlawful and the sentence was abolished for new cases
Imprisonment - determinate sentences
- determinate sentence is one with a fixed length: in 2024 there are around 87,000 prisoners currently in prison. In most cases, not all the sentence is served in prison:
- if a sentence is under 12 months, the offender is normally released halfway through
- if a sentence is 12 months or more, the offender spends the first half in prison and the second half in the community on licence. The licence is supervised by the probation service and includes the conditions they must meet. If they break any of the licence conditions, the offender could be recalled to prison for all or part of their sentence
- offender sentenced to between 2 days and 2 years on release are on a post - sentence for 12 months, with regular meetings with a probation officer and specified requirements
Imprisonment - suspended sentences
- the offender is given a prison sentence but does not go directly to prison
- they receive a suspended sentence if they would otherwise be given a prison sentence or less than 12 months
- sentences can be suspended for 2 years
- the court may also impose requirements such as probation or drug addiction treatment
- the offender must meet these requirements and must not commit any further offence during the suspension period
- if they do commit further offences, the court will send them to prison to serve original sentence. In 2019, 15% of those convicted of a serious offence received a suspended sentence
DOES IMPRISONMENT MEET ITS PUNISHMENT AIMS?
- retribution
- offender deserve to be punished - the punishment should fit the crime
- prison meets this aim as it punishes people for the crime by taking away their freedom and unpleasant living conditions
- however, does imprisonment give them justice e.g who decides what is an appropriate sentence, issues around sentencing time and which offences deserve imprisonment
- deterrence
- the risk of being sent to prison will deter would-be offenders from committing crimes and actual offender from committing further crimes
- however high re-offending rates by ex-prisoners suggest that prison is not an effective deterrent. Nearly half of all prisoners are re-convicted within a year of being released
- deterrence is only effective if the offenders are capable of thinking and acting rationally - but many commit crimes due to other influence (drugs/mental health)
- public protection
-imprisonment protects the public by taking offenders out of society, if they are in jail they cannot harm the public
- imprisonment works because ‘whole life’ sentences keep offenders of the streets. Prisoners on indeterminate sentences can be kept in prison if they are deemed a danger to the public. It is also effective as when prisoners are released they are on licence, if they break conditions they are sent back to prison
- however many people argued that prison can be a ‘school for crime’ where people may learn about more serious crimes. Most prisoners are eventually released where they can harm others. Prison is also very costly
- reparation
- the aim of this is for the offender to repair the damage caused by the victim and to the wider society
- under the prisoners’ earning act 2011, this is when prisoners are permitted to work outside of the prison to prepare for their release, any earning made will be paid directly to victims support services
- however, in practice mot many have the opportunity to take part in this, many have argued imprisonment does not help with reparation
- rehabilitation
- involved reforming and changing offenders to stop them reoffending. However prisoners have a poor record of reducing re-offending
- many have argued the reason that many re-offend is linked to short sentences, education and training is limited for many in prison only a quarter of prisoners have a job to go on release and fewer than 400 get an opportunity for education and training
- another issue is there is a shortage of places on programmes to address offending behaviour such as anger management
COMMUNITY SENTENCES
- community sentences are imposed for offences which are not too serious for a discharge or a fine but not so serious that a prison sentence is necessary
- community payback (unpaid work for 40-300 hours)
- supervision by a probation officer
- treatment and programmes (to help with addictions and mental health issues)
- group programmes (anger management or drink driving)
- restrictions such as curfew, electronic tag, or residence condition
How does community sentences meet its punishment aims?
- retribution
1) all community sentences include an element of punishment, e.g. curfews, restrictions on movements the offender suffers limits on their freedom
2) those doing unpaid work have to wear high visibility vests (‘community pay back’ on the vest) can be applied to ‘naming and shaming’. (denunciation)
Reparation
1) includes doing unpaid work to repair the damage to a person’s property
2) it can also include a whole community reparation through unpaid work such as removing graffiti, clearing waste etc
Public Protection
1) public protection is met through the use of community sentences although they are not locked up, if someone breaches their community sentence it can lead to the offender being sent to prison
Rehabilitation
1) some offenders have complex needs such as homelessness, mental health issues etc which can be the route cause of criminality. Community sentences aims to reform offenders by addressing these (through treatment programmes)
2) studies have shown community sentences is more effective at reforming and reducing reoffending rates. A study by the ministry of justice found 34% reoffend within 12 months of staring a community sentence compared to 64% of those serving a prison sentence for less than 12 months
3) however the use of community sentences has declined from 2007 to 2020 the proportion of those who received a community sentence fell from 14% to 7%
Fines
- fines are financial penalties for offending
- they are given for less serious offences, but even with more serious offences about 15% of those found guilty receive a fine
Fines continued
Size of the fine depends on various factors:
- the offence itself (the law indicated max fines)
- circumstances of the crime ( refer to the contending council on the range of options)
- offenders ability to pay (poorer defendant = smaller fee
- which court is hearing the case
Do fines meet its punishment aims?
- Retribution
1) it has been argued that hitting someone in the pocket is a good way to make them suffer for the harm they have done
Deterrence
1) a fine can make an offender reluctant to re-offend for the fear of further punishment. (Fines are common for first time offenders)
However failure to pay….
1) offenders who fail to pay their fines without a good reason may face prison (public protection)
2) courts can also deduct fines from offenders benefits or send bailiffs to seize belongings
3) however many fines do not get paid, in 2019 unpaid fines had reached up to £623m many are written of as uncollectible
Discharges
When a court finds someone guilty of a minor offence but decides not to hand down a criminal conviction, they’ll be given a discharge
Name the two types of discharge
Conditional discharge
Absolute discharge
Conditional discharge
- defendant will not be punished unless they commit another offence within a set period of time
- if they commit another offence - sentences for the original offence + the new offence
Absolute discharge
- no penalty is imposed - these tend to be given out where the defendant is technically guilty but is morally blameless
How does discharge meet its punishment aims?
- deterrence
1) discharge is best applied to the aim of deterrence as it is the lowest level of punishment and is a warning for future behaviour
2) there is a low rate of re-offending following a discharge especially for first time offenders as going to court is seen as the punishment
