Punishment

Question 1

What are the 4 main functions of punishment?

Answer 1

Incarceration

Deterrence

Retribution

Rehabilitate

Question 2

What does incarceration refer to?

Answer 2

Removing offenders from society

Lock up dangerous offenders to keep the public safe

Question 3

What does deterrence refer to?

Answer 3

Punishment acts as a warning to offenders and the public

(if you commit a crime, you will be punished) - preventing more crimes from being committed

Question 4

What does retribution refer to?

Answer 4

Offenders deserve to be punished as they have broke the law

Question 5

What does rehabilitate refer to?

Answer 5

Change the behaviour of offenders to prevent re-offending so they don’t commit more crimes when they leave prison

e.g. provide education and training to help offenders to get legitimate jobs

Question 6

What do functionalists argue punishment acts as?

Answer 6

Acts as a warning to offenders and the public; being sent to prison prevents re-offending and the public seeing people sent to prison prevents them from committing crime

Question 7

What do functionalists argue deterrence is an example of?

Answer 7

Example of boundary maintenance

Every time someone breaks the law and it taken to court, the court case and media coverage confirms the shared values of society

Question 8

What are the criticims of deterrence as a function of punishment?

Answer 8

High re-offending rates suggest that punishment doesn’t act as deterrence

Prisons are “breeding grounds” for crime - prisoners learn new criminal ideas and strategies from other inmates

Question 9

What do functionalists argue retribution is?

Answer 9

Where offenders deserve to be punished because they have not only broken the law, but broken the shared norms and values of society

Question 10

What does punishment of offenders give communities?

Answer 10

Gives communities a sense of justice which helps to restore social solidarity

Question 11

What is social solidarity? (punishment)

Answer 11

Everyone feels it is right that offenders are punished and they all come together to hear the sentence

Question 12

What are the criticisms of retribution as a function of punishment?

Answer 12

The extent to which prisons offer retribution is questionable

In recent years there have been significant funding cuts and staff shortages in UK prisons, resulting in prison officers losing authority and not challenging prisoners due to a lack of back up

Question 13

What do right realists argue the main aim of punishment should be?

Answer 13

Main aim should be to incarcerate

Question 14

When is the right realist view of punishment being incarceration particularly true? Why?

Answer 14

Particularly true in cases of street crime (e.g. mugging, shoplifting, knife crime)

Offenders come from the underclass - they are “scum”, living off benefits, making no valuable contribution to society

Question 15

Why are the underclass the real criminals of society?

Answer 15

They are a threat to society’s work ethic as they make the public think it’s ok to live off benefits and do petty crimes like shoplifting

Question 16

What are the criticisms for incarceration as a function of punishment?

Answer 16

Mass incarceration doesn’t work - year on year, the prison population grows with offenders from low income deprived backgrounds

Costs taxpayer money (£36,000 per year to keep one person in prison)

Alternative forms of punishment must be considered e.g. community service

Question 17

What do left realists argue the main function of punishment should be?

Answer 17

Should be to rehabilitate offenders - change the behaviour of offenders to prevent re-offending

Question 18

Where do a high number of offenders come from?

Answer 18

Come from working-class, deprived, low-income backgrounds

Crime may be their only option

Question 19

What do left realists argue prisons should offer?

Answer 19

Should offer education and skills training to encourage and enable prisoners to get legitimate jobs when they leave prison

Important to change thinking of offenders through counselling and group therapy sessions

Question 20

What are the criticisms of rehabilitation as a function of punishment?

Answer 20

Education provided in many prisons is inadequate

Due to significant funding cuts, there is a lack of counselling and mental health care in prisons, therefore, prisoners aren’t changing their behaviour or attitudes

Question 21

What do Marxists argue prisons serve as?

Answer 21

Argue they serve as an ideological function

Prisons are used by the ruling class to maintain their power and control over the working class

Question 22

What is an ideological function?

Answer 22

An ideology is a set of beliefs which serve the interests of a group of people in society

Question 23

How do Marxists argue the RC control the criminal justice system?

Answer 23

RC make sure the police and courts are tough on working-class offenders and that their punishment is reported in the media

Question 24

How does RC control of the criminal justice system shape societies thoughts of criminals?

Answer 24

Causes the public to think criminals are working class and are therefore scared of being victim of street crimes

Question 25

What effect does attention being drawn to WC crimes on other crimes?

Answer 25

Draws attention away from the real criminals - MC criminals who commit corporate crim

Punishment of the WC helps to hide crimes of the MC

Question 26

What are the criticisms of Marxists ideological function of punishment?

Answer 26

Labelling theory would agree - argue police target WC offenders as they fit the ‘typical delinquent’

WC more likely to be arrested and convicted of crimes