punishment Flashcards
punishment - durkheim
punishment = healthy and functional for society - maintains social solidarity as it reinforces shared norms and values. maintains value consensus as it serves to heals wounds opened by criminals.
punishment = expressive - expresses society’s outrage at the offence.
retributive justice - traditional societies - solidarity between individuals based on similarities - punishment = severe and motivation is expressive
restitutive justice - modern societies - solidarity based on interdependence, crime damages interdependence and damage must be repaired - restitution is needed - compensation for victim - instrumental
durkheim criticism
misunderstood traditional societies - they actually had restitutive justice, e.g.
blood feuds often settled by payment of compensation rather than by execution.
punishment - marxism
punishment is part of repressive state apparatus - maintains existing social order
form of punishment reflects type of economic base of society - in capitalism price is placed on workers’ time so criminals ‘pay for their crime’
types of punishment - imprisonement
prisons have 4 main goals
protect public - prisons lock away anti social, dangerous, undesirable people
punish criminal behaviour - media presents prisons as soft but many are overcrowded, violent and degrading
reform criminals - edu programmes help prisoners learn new skills so they can have honest life once released
deter others - threat of being sent to prison stops people from breaking law
imprisonment criticism
prisons fail to deter or rehabilitate as stats show rate of recidivism among ex offenders is extremely high - ⅔ reoffend
types of punishment - ASBOs
anti social behaviour order - deals with minor criminal offences to prevent children from breaking law and becoming even more criminal.
ASBOs criticism
ASBOs became badge of honour so encouraged increase in crime as some teenagers deliberately went out to commit crime to get one and increase status and respect from peers
types of punishment - curfews and dispersal orders
ban children from public places - council enforce local child curfew for up to 90 days - children under 16 at home by 9pm. police have power to break up groups of 2 or more
curfews and dispersal orders criticism
leads to labelling
