Sentencing Flashcards
What act sets out the purposes of sentencing for those over 18?
Criminal Justice Act 2003
What are the 6 aims of sentencing?
Retribution, denunciation, incapacitation, deterrence, rehabilitation and reparation
What is retribution?
We punish offenders because they deserve punishment, it must be proportionate to the crime committed, the Sentencing Council is responsible
What did Von Hirsch state about retribution?
Punishment is important as it takes away the advantage the offender has… ‘The violator ceases to be at an advantage over his non violating fellow’
What are the evaluation points on retribution?
It has been criticised for being short-sighted as does not attempt to rehabilitate the offender or reduce crime
It can be described as ‘institutionalised revenge’ which can be extremely unfair
What is denunciation?
Way of society expressing disapproval of criminal activity, it teaches society right from wrong with moral boundaries, usually goes hand in hand with retribution
What are the evaluation points on denunciation?
It is limited as does not seek to reform offenders and can be used to justify excessive sentences which is harsh
What is incapacitation?
Prevent an offender from committing further crimes and protects society, banning drink drivers and giving curfews is also a form of incapacitation
What is incapacitation like in America?
Ultimate sentence is the death sentence and sex offenders have been incapacitated by medical treatment
What are the evaluation points on incapacitation?
Leads to huge prison populations as over the last 5 years the capacity has risen by nearly 20,000 which is extremely costly
It does not aim to reform offender behaviour and is very limited
What is individual deterrence?
Deterring individual from committing further crimes, excessive sentences help here
It can lead to unfair and excessive punishments such as in R v Whitton 1985 where a football hooligan was given life
Prison is not an effective deterrent as 55% of adults reoffend within 2 years and 70% of young offenders do
Assumes that the individual considers the consequences but is this really the case?
What is general deterrence?
Excessive penalties will act as a deterrent for the rest of the population e.g. in R v Whitton 1985
R v Rollings 2012 got a 5 year sentence for possession of a gun to make a point to rest of society
It is difficult to measure the effectiveness
It relies on the publicity of severe punishments but does this have enough impact?
What does general deterrence have a direct conflict with?
Retribution - it is probably the least effective and least fair principle of sentencing
What is rehabilitation?
Aim is to rehabilitate the offender so he can return to normal society, its reflected in many community penalties such as supervision orders and drug treatments etc
What are the evaluation points on rehabilitation?
It leads to individualised sentences which can be disproportionate and therefore inconsistent
It also can discriminate against the underprivileged as those from poorer backgrounds often seem perfect candidates to reform
What does the Powers of Criminal Courts (Sentencing) Act 2000 say about rehabilitation?
The court may take into consideration any previous failures to respond to previous sentences
What is reparation?
Aimed at compensating the victim of the crime. e.g. they may have to pay a sum of money or return stolen property or complete unpaid community work
What does S.130 Powers of Criminal Courts (Sentencing) Act 2000 say about reparation?
The courts must give reasons if they do not make a compensation order
What does the Criminal Justice Act 2003 say about a prison sentence?
It should only be passed when the crime is so serious that neither a fine nor a community service is justified, you have to be 21 or over
What is a mandatory life sentence?
Given to someone convicted of murder automatically, minimum term to be served is 15 years to life said by the CJA 2003, if released they will be on licence for the rest of their life
Discretionary life sentences are available for those convicted of offences such as robbery and rape
What is a fixed term sentence?
The most unusual type of sentence - fixes the amount of time the person spends in prison, if sentenced to over 4 years they MUST serve 2/3 of sentence and under 4 years 1/2 of sentence