Punishment Flashcards
What are the 4 main functions of punishment?
Incarceration
Deterrence
Retribution
Rehabilitate
What does incarceration refer to?
Removing offenders from society
Lock up dangerous offenders to keep the public safe
What does deterrence refer to?
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
What does retribution refer to?
Offenders deserve to be punished as they have broke the law
What does rehabilitate refer to?
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
What do functionalists argue punishment acts as?
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
What do functionalists argue deterrence is an example of?
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
What are the criticims of deterrence as a function of punishment?
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
What do functionalists argue retribution is?
Where offenders deserve to be punished because they have not only broken the law, but broken the shared norms and values of society
What does punishment of offenders give communities?
Gives communities a sense of justice which helps to restore social solidarity
What is social solidarity? (punishment)
Everyone feels it is right that offenders are punished and they all come together to hear the sentence
What are the criticisms of retribution as a function of punishment?
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
What do right realists argue the main aim of punishment should be?
Main aim should be to incarcerate
When is the right realist view of punishment being incarceration particularly true? Why?
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
Why are the underclass the real criminals of society?
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
What are the criticisms for incarceration as a function of punishment?
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
What do left realists argue the main function of punishment should be?
Should be to rehabilitate offenders - change the behaviour of offenders to prevent re-offending
Where do a high number of offenders come from?
Come from working-class, deprived, low-income backgrounds
Crime may be their only option
What do left realists argue prisons should offer?
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
What are the criticisms of rehabilitation as a function of punishment?
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
What do Marxists argue prisons serve as?
Argue they serve as an ideological function
Prisons are used by the ruling class to maintain their power and control over the working class
What is an ideological function?
An ideology is a set of beliefs which serve the interests of a group of people in society
How do Marxists argue the RC control the criminal justice system?
RC make sure the police and courts are tough on working-class offenders and that their punishment is reported in the media
How does RC control of the criminal justice system shape societies thoughts of criminals?
Causes the public to think criminals are working class and are therefore scared of being victim of street crimes
What effect does attention being drawn to WC crimes on other crimes?
Draws attention away from the real criminals - MC criminals who commit corporate crim
Punishment of the WC helps to hide crimes of the MC
What are the criticisms of Marxists ideological function of punishment?
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
