Term 2 Lecture 7- Alternatives to Punishment Flashcards
What are the key readings?
What are the approaches to non-punitive offence resolution?
Responding to offenders and their crimes differently (via resolution, restitution and reparation)
Offenders have an active part in the justice process and offence resolution, and this may also include the victim
Deal with immediate issues and achieve solution here and now (Offence Resolution)
What are the two approaches to punishment?
Prioritising the offender and prioritising the victim and community
How is the offender prioritised?
By minimising the consequence of offence to avoid labelling and through diversionary intervention
What is diversionary intervention?
Diversion from formal criminal justice practices to avoid criminal charges (for young and first time offenders). Done through community service and education
How is the victim prioritised?
Strategies are made to make amends and put right harms and through restorative justice
What is restorative justice?
Identifying and addressing harms as a group to restore bonds
What is the purpose of prisons?
Keeping the public safe
Rehabilitation
Punishment (the delivery of justice)
Deterrence
Why do we punish?
Retribution, deterrence, rehabilitation and incapacitation
What is retribution?
Social revenge
What is deterrence?
Preventing future crime through disincentivizing of offender
What is rehabilitation?
Prevention of future crime via reform
What is incapacitation?
Social protection and prevention of future crime via restriction of the offender
What did the Home Secretary say about imprisonment?
Prison works to ensure that we are protected
Makes those who think about commit crime think twice
What is the aims of imprisonment from international law?
Social reintegration
What do the Nelson Mandela rules say about imprisonment?
Deprivation of liberty to protect society and reduce recidivism
It can be achieved if the period of imprisonmnt ensures reintegration upon release
What are the statistics from Global Prison Trends?
11.5 million people are held in institutions in the world
120 countries report occupancy levels of 100%
15 countries report occupancy levels of over 250%
Women and girls’ prison population has increased by 60% since 2000 from 2022
What did Roberts et al say about imprisonment?
Tough on crime policies has led to over-incarceration across the globe
Who looked at the evidence for if prison works?
Coyle et al, 2016
What did Coyle et al, 2016, find?
There is little evidence that lengthy prison sentences deter crime, reduce recidivism and that high levels of incarceration increase public safety
What did the Penal Reform International find with imprisonment?
That it has led to significant human rights violations, such as poor treatment of detainees, inhumane conditions, & prison overcrowding
Who looked at the treatment of prison?
Mauer 2017
What did Mauer, 2017, say?
Conditions of prisons range from inadequate to torturous
What is community punishments?
An alternative to prison which is used for people whose characteristics don’t warrant a jail sentence
What did Tonry, 2017, say about community punishments?
Community punishments would do much less harm to offenders and their families than prison and jail sentences now do.
Who looked at the aims of alternative to imprisonment?
Council of Europe, 2017
What did the Council of Europe say about the aims of alternatives to imprisonment?
End unnecessary use of incarceration
Avoid negative effects of imprisonment
Encourage & enable change in people’s lives
Foster sense of community responsibility in offenders
Allow greater community involvement in criminal justice
Improve prospects for social inclusion
Reduce reoffending
Reduce costs
Who looked at international support for alternatives to imprisonment?
United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, 2013
What did the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, 2013, say?
Given detrimental & counterproductive effects of increasing prison populations, important for societies to consider more meaningful, alternative measures as a first resort
At both pre- & post-trial stages of criminal justice process
Alternative measures addressing risks & needs of individuals will generate greatest return to communities in terms of social cohesion, cost savings & long-term public safety
What is diversion?
Strategy that seeks to precent the formal processing of an offender by the criminal justice system
What does diversion result in?
The person being given a warning, paying a fine, compensation to the victim or directed towards a treatment
Who plays a role in diversion?
Police and prosecutors as police discretion must be applied to a lawful, transparent basis
What is pre-trial detention used as in the Tokyo rules 6.1?
As a means of last resort in criminal proceedings with regard to the investigation of the offence and due to the protection of the society and the victim
What are the measures to avoid pre-trial detention?
Bail (financial security)
Daily reporting
Court-appointed supervision
Passport surrender
Electronic monitoring
What is the evidence for pre-court diversion for adults?
Moderate evidence pre-court diversion reduce costs to CJS
Promising evidence on impact of pre-court diversion on victim satisfaction
Strong international evidence that pre-court diversion reduced re-offending
Moderate UK evidence that pre-court diversion reduces re-offendin
What is the Rule 8.2 of the Tokyo rules for wide range of potential sanctions?
Verbal reprimand or warning
Conditional discharge
Fines
Confiscation of good or property
Status penalty: denial of specified rights in community
Restitution to victim or compensation scheme
Suspended or deferred sentence
Referral to attendance centre for non-institutional treatment
Community work order
House arrest
What is used for youth diversion for out of court disposals?
Issuing a ‘No Further Action’
Formal out-of-court disposals (criminal record consequences) such as youth cautions or youth conditional cautions
Community Resolution (seeks to avoid involvement with CJS) such as point of arrest diversion
Who looked at the evidence for youth diversion?
Ely et al, 2021
What did Ely at al, 2021, find?
Evidence to suggest youth diversion ‘reduces reoffending, lowers costs, and leads to better outcomes for children and young people’
What did the Centre for Justice Innovation do?
Widespread availability and range of interventions
Variations in practice in requirement to admit guilt
What are the limitations for the Centre for Justice Innovation?
Weaknesses in sustainability and funding arrangements (funding cuts, staff shortages, and increased demand)
Referral processes slow, interventions too long, strict eligibility criteria
Who looked at shaming?
Braithwaite, 1989
What did Braithwaite, 1989, find?
Shaming: ‘social processes of disapproval which have the intention or effect of invoking remorse in the person being shamed &/or condemnation by others who become aware of the shaming’
What effect can shame have?
Cause or prevent crime
What are the two types of shaming?
Disintegrative and reintegrative
What is disintegrative shaming?
Shaming that leads to criminal behaviour
What is reintegrative shaming?
Focus on forgiveness and reintegration into the community
What does Charles Horton Cooley say about looking-glass self?
We shape our identities based on the way others see us (social reactions)
How does self-perception develop?
Through interaction & communication with others and shaped by reactions of significant others & our perceptions of how they view us
What does Braithwaite say about disintegrative shaming?
Little or no effort made to forgive, affirm goodness of character or reinforce membership of community
How is disintegrative shaming historical?
Through public humiliation and flogging
How is disintegrative shaming seen in the media?
As there is the denouncing of crimes and criminals with the intent to shame offenders into greater respect for law
What are the characteristics of reintegrative shaming by Braithwaite?
Ongoing inclusion of offender in interdependent relationship
There is overt disapproval of delinquent act by socially significant individuals
When is shame reintegrative according to Braithwaite?
Reinforces individual’s membership in society
Prevents individual from adopting deviant master status
Maintains bonds of love &/or respect between shamed & shaming
Targets wrongness of act not offender
Takes place in context of general social approval
Concludes with gestures, ceremonies of acceptance & forgiveness
What are the core restorative justice ideals according to Kurki?
Focuses on the victim, offender and community
Restorative justice considers crime to be an offence against an individual or community, not the state
The goal is to restore the victim and the community and to rebuild fractured relationships
What does restorative justice work?
To resolve conflict and repair harm
Others encourage those who caused harm to acknowledge the impact of what they have done
Making reparations
What implications does restorative justice have?
Empowers victims by meeting and communicating with the offender in a controlled environment
Holds offenders to account and helps them take responsibility
For government research as RJ provides 85% victim satisfaction rate
What are the 6 principles of restorative practice?
Restoration
Voluntarism
Impartiality
Safety
Accessibility
Empowerment
What is restoration?
Address participants’ needs & not cause further harm.
What is voluntarism?
Participation is voluntary & based on open, informed & ongoing choice & consent. Everyone has the right to withdraw at any point.
What is impartiality?
Practitioners must remain impartial & ensure RP is respectful, non-discriminatory & unbiased towards all participants. They must recognise potential conflicts of interest that could affect their impartiality.
What is safety?
Processes aim to ensure safety of all participants & create a safe space for the expression of feelings & views: must result in no further harm.
What is accessibility?
RP must be respectful & inclusive of diversity needs such as mental health conditions, disability, cultural, religious, race, gender & sexual identity.
What is empowerment?
RP must support individuals to feel more confident in making informed choices to find solutions & ways forward that best meet their needs.
What are the restorative justice models?
Victim offender mediation, community and family group conferencing, circle of support and accountability and circle sentencing
What is victim offender mediation?
Trained facilitator prepares both in advance: meet face-to-face to express feelings & reach agreement
What is community and family group conferencing?
Family, friends & community take part in professionally-facilitated process
What is circle of support and accountability?
Volunteers support released sex offenders to reduce alienation and facilitate reintegration into the community
What is circle sentencing?
Participatory justice for those who plead guilty; judge, defence counsel, prosecutor, police officer, victim, offender, respective families & community residents: discussions to reach consensus
Who looked at the restorative justice typology?
McCold and Wachtel, 2003
What did McCold and Wachtel find with restorative justice?
There are 3 primary stakeholders with specific needs: victims, offenders and communities of care and they have overlapping needs
What are victims in RJ?
They obtain reparation
Receive crime compensaton
What are offenders in RJ?
Taking responsibility
Have related community service
Victim sensitivity training
What are communities of care in RJ?
There to achieve reconciliation
Offender family services
What are the overlapped needs for victims, offenders and community of care?
Peace circles
Community conferences
Family group conferencing
What is the community in RJ according to Schiff, 2007?
‘anyone who feels connected emotionally, physically or in other ways to the victim(s), the offender(s), or the event itself ’
What are the 2 types of community that is impacted by crime?
Micro-communities
Macro-communities
Who found the 2 types of communities?
McCold, 2004
What is micro-community?
Communities of care such as family and friends.
What is macro-community?
Neighbourhood and group membership
Who looked at community confererences?
Beck, 2012
What did Beck, 2012, find?
Community conferences can improve a community’s collective efficacy, transform conflict, and build relationships
What are the attributes of the victim in RJ?
Reach closure
Receive an apology
Receive reparation/restitution
Restore relationship with offender
Receive answer to their questions about the crime and the offender
What are the attributes of the offender in RJ?
Apologise to victims
Reach closure
Acknowledge responsibility for offence
Express emotions about offence
Receive support to repair harm caused to the victim
What does Mills argue about restorative justice?
Extends prison constraints and community sentences by adding further requirements
Should be used for minor offences
What is true restorative justice?
Supplants existing processes so we no longer use proceeding throug the CJS
Who criticised restorative justice?
Morris 2002
What are Morris’ criticisms for restorative justice?
Lenient- can be manipulated by offenders
Only useful for certain offenders and certain crime s
Expands social control and widens net of CJS
Ineffective as it fails to restore victims, offenders or provides justice
Results in inconsistent discriminatory outcomes
What are the key points from Braithwaite, 1999?
Culturally inappropriate in modern industrialised societies
Women bear ‘gendered burden of care’
No awareness of structural problems (unemployment, poverty)
Offenders: may be ‘back door’ to incarceration; may worsen stigma
Victims: may increase fears of revictimisation; may feel obliged to take part
What are the risks for victims in RJ?
Re-victimisation
Confidentiality
Concern for lack of consequences for the offender
Safety
Pressure to participate
Burden of meeting= could be traumatic
What are the risks for offenders in RJ?
Potential for disintegrative shaming to occur
Fear of consequences for not following through
View of RJ as ‘easy way out’
Pressure to participate
What are the risks for community in RJ?
Extent to which RJ can ‘restore’ or ‘heal’ communities
Tension over involvement of community residents
Potential difficulties getting communities involved and sustaining that involvement
Lack of community strength
Used incorrectly, RJ can ‘exacerbate power imbalances and tensions’
What are the risks for meeting in RJ?
Domination by certain participants (i.e. victim might place ‘vindictive demands’ on offender)
‘Inclusion of inappropriate persons’
Manipulation of meeting by offender
Threatening behaviour from one party to another (i.e. offender towards victim)
Power imbalances
What are the risks for the system in RJ?
Widening net of CJS
Domination of process by CJS professionals
Bureaucratisation of RJ processes
Referral of inappropriate cases
Insufficient training
Lack of safeguards and due process protection
Overstating potential impact
Failure to rehabilitate offender
Increase workload of CJS
