Aims of sentencing Flashcards
What are the aims of sentencing?
-Punishment
-Rehabilitation/reformation
-Protecting the public
-Reparation
-Deterrence
What is punishment?
-Societies revenge for the crime that was committed
-Requires the sentence to be proportional to the crime that was committed
Example: murder’s punishment would be a whole life sentence
What is the case study for punishment?
R v Coonan (2011):
Defendant killed 13 women and attempted to kill another 7 women. He was given a whole life sentence and appealed against his sentence
What is individual deterrence?
Giving an individual an unusually harsh sentence to deter that individual from committing similar crimes
Example: lengthy prison sentence or a hefty fine to put off the individual from re-offending
What is the case study for individual deterrence?
R v Carter (2011):
Defendant stole £500 worth of clothes from Oasis during the London riots, and got 16 months imprisonment
What is general deterrence?
The courts give the offender an unusually harsh sentence to deter the rest of society from committing similar crimes
Example: driving bans for drink drivers to deter others from doing so
What is the case study for general deterrence?
R v Blackshaw (2011):
Defendant was charged with starting a riot. He created a Facebook group that organised a riot in Manchester. Police managed to shut down his page before it took place, and he got a 4 year prison sentence
What is reparation?
Requires the offender to compensate the victim or society for the crime they committed
Example: paying money to the victim or completing unpaid work
What is rehabilitation?
Changing the offender’s bahaviour and tackling the reasons why they commit a crime in the hope that they will not commit crimes again
Example: completing drug or alcohol rehabilitation programmes
What is protection of the public?
Works upon the principle that the offender needs to be protected from dangerous offenders
Example: offender is prohibited from certain areas or activities
Which act for public protection link to and what does it mean?
The Criminal Justice Act 2003
Gave the courts the power to send a person to protect the public if it is a serious offence and they are considered a serious risk to harming the public
What is the case study for protection of the public?
R v Winkler (2004):
Defendant was a football hooligan, so the courts banned him from going into Oldham town centre on home match days. They also banned him from going within half a mile of any football stadium.
