public protection Flashcards
describe the aim of public protection
Under this aim, the main purpose is to protect the public from dangerous offenders.
The Criminal Justice Act 2003, introduced a provision for serious offences that where the court is in the opinion that there is a significant risk to members of the public of serious harm being caused by the defendant in the future, the court must send the defendant to prison for the protection of the public.
For less serious sentences, the public can be protected, for example, dangerous drivers are disqualified from driving or an exclusion order banning an offender from going to places where they are most likely to commit an offence.
punishments that meet the aim of public protection
Prison sentences- by taking an offender out of circulation, it prevents them committing further crimes against the public.
The Crime (sentences) Act (1997) introduced mandatory minimum jail sentences for repeat offenders:
Automatic life sentences for second serious sexual or violent offences
Seven years minimum for a third Class A drug trafficking offence.
Three years minimum for a third domestic burglary conviction.
Banning orders
Tagging
Curfews
links to unit 2 criminological theories
Right realists believe that stricter social control is needed to reduce crime and therefore they may see the need to impose a sentence to protect the public. They argue this is required as social constraints are weak.
Biological theorists believe that criminals are biological different from non criminals and it’s therefore not possible to rehabilitate them. Lombroso favoured sending repeat offenders into exile, for example on Islands away from the public. Other biological theories have favoured chemical or surgical castration to incapacitate offenders.
