AC2.3 Strengths and weaknesses of forms of punishment

Question 1

Strengths of community sentences

There are two

Answer 1

• One strength of community sentences is it rehabilitates the offenders and deters them from committing any more crimes so that they will not have to do any more labour.
• Another strength is it provides an opportunity for the public to witness punishment, providing a general deterrence within the public and a sense of rehabilitation within the offenders.

Question 2

Weaknesses of community sentences

There are two

Answer 2

• One weakness of community sentences is it could be argued to be insufficiently harsh and not retributive enough
• Another weakness is often offenders outnumber officers and can bully or harass them or get away with not engaging in community sentences.

Question 3

Strength of imprisonment

There only is one

Answer 3

• One strength of imprisonment is there is evidence of long sentences being effective at aiding in rehabilitation. It was recorded that long prison sentences have a 25% recidivism rate compared to 60% of short prison sentences meaning there is some rehabilitation occurring

Question 4

Weaknesses of imprisonment

There are two

Answer 4

• One weakness is there is an overreliance of custodial sentences for non-violent repeat offences making it an ineffective form of rehabilitation
• Another weakness is there is evidence that shows other forms of sentencing such as community sentences can be more effective at reducing crime and recidivism compared to custodial sentences.

Question 5

Strengths of discharge

There are two

Answer 5

• One strength of discharge is the experience of the court for young or first time offenders provides an individual deterrence that the offenders will utilise to prevent them from reoffending in the future.
• Another strength is no criminal record is imposed which instills rehabilitation as it allows offenders to reform themselves without having their freedom being taken away.

Question 6

Weakness of discharge

There only is one

Answer 6

• One weakness of a discharge in 2019 it was recorded that 38,000 conditional discharges and 4,000 absolute discharges were issued, which could be argued to be insufficiently harsh or effectively punishing offenders and therefore not an effective individual deterrent.