Aims And Forms Of Punishment Flashcards
What is retribution?
The main aim of punishment for offenders. This can be through imprisonment, custodial sentences and fines. Provides an appropriate punishment to provide justice for both the defendant and the victim.
What is rehabilitation?
Reforming the offenders behaviour to help reintroduce them back into society. This can reduce reoffending rates as it can help change the offenders reasoning for the cause of their previous crime. This can be through community service or by going to drug or alcohol treatments.
What is reparation?
Involves making the offenders give back to the community. Involves ordering the offender to pay a sum of money to the victim or community as a result of the damage caused. Can be a fine or community service.
What is public protection?
Punishment must serve a useful purpose to society to protect them from dangerous criminals. Incapacitation and imprisonment means offenders have their freedom removed.
What is deterrence?
Aims to dissuade the offender or anyone in society from committing crime or deviant behaviour. Individual deterrence = ensuring an offender doesn’t offend and General deterrence = preventing potential offenders from committing crimes.
What is imprisonment?
What aims of punishment does it meet and what aims does it not meet?
Imprisonment can be when offenders go to prison for a certain period of time depending on what sentence was given by the judge. It takes away the offenders freedom.
Aims met = retribution, public protection, reparation, deterrence
Aims not met = rehabilitation
What is community service?
What aims of punishment does it meet and what aims does it not meet?
30-400 hours of unpaid work, having curfews, being on probation or by attending drug or alcohol treatment.
Aims met = reparation, rehabilitation, deterrence
Aims not met = public protection and retribution
What are fines?
What aims of punishment does it meet and what aims does it not meet?
A sum of money that the offender will pay to either the victim or communities but can depend on financial circumstances of the offender and the seriousness of the offence.
Aims met = reparation, retribution, deterrence
Aims not met = rehabilitation, public protection
What are discharges?
What aims of punishment does it meet and what aims does it not meet?
Absolute discharges are where no penalty is imposed as defendants are guilty but blameless as they have suffered too much. Conditional discharges are if the offender reoffends then courts can impose a harsher sentence which is added onto their previous one.
Aims met = deterrence and retribution
Aims not met = public protection, reparation, rehabilitation
