Topic 2.2 - Discuss the aims of punishment

Question 1

What are the five aims or purposes of punishment? Briefly explain what each one means.

Answer 1

• Retribution - Punishing someone for the offence they committed -Expressing society’s outrage at crime
• Rehabilitation - Making offenders change their behavior
• Deterrence - Discouraging future offending
• Public protection - Protecting the public from offenders
• Reparation - Making good the harm caused by crime

Question 2

Retribution

What is meant by ‘retribution’?

Answer 2

Retribution literally means paying back. It involves inflicting punishment on an offender as vengeance for a wrong or criminal act

Question 3

‘Just Desserts’

What is meant by ‘just desserts’?

Answer 3

Retribution is based on the idea that criminals should get their ‘just desserts’: offenders deserve to be punished and society is morally entitled to take its revenge. The offender should be made to suffer for having breached society’s moral code

Question 4

What is meant by proportionality? Give an example.

Answer 4

Punishment should fit the crime committed - it should be equal or proportionate to the harm done, as in the idea of ‘an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, a life for a life’. This is why some people argue that murderers should suffer the death penalty

Question 5

What is meant by a ‘tariff’ system and how does this link to proportionality?

Answer 5

A ‘tariff’ system or fixed scale of mandatory (compulsory) penalties for difference offences: so many years’ jail for armed robbery and such-and-such a fine for speeding and so on

Question 6

Using the example of hate crime, explain how punishment can be used to reflect society’s moral outrage.

Answer 6

Although retribution might have some good effects (like deterring potential offenders), this is not its main purpose. Instead, it is simply a way for society to express its moral condemnation or outrage at the offender. Punishment is morally good in itself, regardless of whether it changes the offender’s future behavior. Retribution is a justification for punishing crimes already committed, not a way of preventing future ones. Hate crimes like racially aggravated offences carry an ‘uplift’ or higher tariff sentence. For example, the maximum penalty for GBH is 5 years imprisonment, but this can be increased to 7 years if it is proven to be racially motivated. The uplift reflects society’s greater outrage at the offence

Question 7

Theory

What two theories of criminality does retribution link to?

Answer 7

Right realism - Retribution is linked to right realist theories of criminality such as rational choice theory. Like these theories, retribution assumes that offenders are rational actors who consciously choose to commit crime and are fully responsible for their actions. They must therefore suffer the outrage of society for what they have chosen to do.

Durkheim’s functionalist theory - For functionalist sociologists such as Durkheim, the moral outrage that retribution expresses performs the important function of boundary maintenance. Punishing the offender reminds everyone else of the difference between right and wrong

Question 8

Criticisms

Summarise three criticisms of retribution as an aim of punishment.

Answer 8

• It can be argued that offenders deserve forgiveness, mercy or a chance to make amends, not just be punished
• If there is a fixed tariff of penalties, punishment has to be inflicted even where no good is going to come of it, for example on a remorseful offender who will commit no further crimes
• How do we decide what is a proportionate penalty or ‘just dessert’ for each crime? People disagree about which crimes are more serious than others

Question 9

Rehabilitation

What is meant by ‘rehabilitation’? How does it differ from retribution?

Answer 9

The idea that punishment can be used to reform or change offenders so they no longer offend and can go on to live a crime-free life. Rather than focusing on punishing past offences, as retribution does, rehabilitation uses various treatment programmes to change the offender’s future behaviour by addressing the issues which led to their offending

Question 10

List three types of rehabilitation policies.

Answer 10

• Education and training programmes for prisoners so they can avoid unemployment and ‘earn an honest living’ on release
• Anger management courses for violent offenders, such as the Aggression Replacement Training (ART) and other cognitive behavioural therapy programmes
• Drug Treatment and Testing Orders, and programmes to treat alcohol dependence

Question 11

What do community sentences often include requirements for?

Answer 11

The offender to actually engage in such programmes as part of their sentence

Question 12

What do rehabilitation policies often require?

Answer 12

Considerable input of resources and professional support from therapists, probation officers or others to help them achieve change. This is particularly so where their offending has led to their exclusion from mainstream society and where they need to be reintegrated into the community, such as upon their release from prison

Question 13

Theory

What ways of changing offenders’ behaviour do the following individualistic theories favour:

• Cognitive theories
• Eyesenck’s personality theory
• Skinner’s operant learning theory

Answer 13

• Cognitive theories favour cognitive behavioural therapies (CBT) to teach offenders to correct the thinking errors and biases that lead to aggressive or criminal behaviour
• Eyesenck’s personality theory favours the use of aversion therapy to deter offending behaviour
• Skinner’s operant learning theory supports the use of token economics to encourage prisoners to produce more acceptable behaviour

Question 14

Which sociological theory would favour rehabilitation?

Answer 14

Sociological theories such as left realism also favour rehabilitation in that they regard social factors such as unemployment, poverty and poor educational opportunities as causes of crime. Therefore addressing these needs among offenders will help to reduce offending

Question 15

Criticisms

Summarise two criticisms of rehabilitation as an aim of punishment.

Answer 15

• Right realists argue that rehabilitation has only limited success, in that many offenders go on to re-offend even after undergoing programmes aimed at changing their behaviour
• Marxists criticise rehabilitation programmes for shifting the responsibility for offending onto the individual offender’s failings, rather than focusing on how capitalism leads some people to commit crime

Question 16

Deterrence

What is meant by ‘deterrence’?

Answer 16

To deter someone from doing something by putting them off doing it. The fear of being caught and punished may deter people from committing crime. Deterrence can be either individual or general

Question 17

Individual deterrence

How does individual deterrence aim to prevent individual’s from re-offending?

Answer 17

Individual (or specific) uses punishment to deter the individual offender from re-offending. Punishment may convince the offender that it is not worth repeating the experience

Question 18

Why did Margaret Thatcher’s government introduce a tough new system of juvenile detention centres in the 1980s?

Answer 18

She introduced ‘short, sharp shock’ to deter young offenders from re-offending. The US introduced similar military-style ‘boot camps’ around the same time with the same aim

Question 19

General deterrence

How does general deterrence aim to prevent the public in general from breaking the law?

Answer 19

If the public see an individual offender being punished, they will see what they themselves will have to suffer if they commit a similar crime. Making an example of the individual will have a general effect and teach everyone else a lesson

Question 20

What as used as general deterrence in the past? How does this differ from today?

Answer 20

In the past, this was often done through public punishments such as executions, floggings or putting offenders in the stocks, so that everyone could see for themselves the consequences of offending. Today, the public are more likely to learn about the costs of offending from media reports instead

Question 21

Severity versus certainty

Briefly explain the difference between the severity of a punishment and the certainty of a punishment. Which is more likely to act as a deterrent?

Answer 21

It is important to distinguish between the severity of punishment and the certainty of punishment. For example, however severe the punishment might be for a particular offence, if there is a very little chance of being caught and convicted, then it will be unlikely to deter many would-be offenders

Question 22

Use the example of burglary to illustrate why severity of a punishment may not act as a deterrent.

Answer 22

For example, although there is a mandatory minimum sentence of three years’ imprisonment for committing a third domestic burglary, only about 5% of reported burglaries result in a successful conviction, so the likelihood of facing the punishment is very low and may not be a deterrent. On the other hand, if the offender is very likely to be caught, then even a relatively mild punishment may be an effective punishment

Question 23

Theory

Explain why right realism favours deterrence as a means of crime prevention.

Answer 23

Rational choice theory sees individuals as rational actors who weigh up the costs and benefits before deciding whether to offend. Therefore, severe punishments and a high chance of getting caught will deter offending

Question 24

Explain how situational crime prevention strategies may act as a deterrent.

Answer 24

Situational crime prevention strategies such as target hardening make it harder to commit an offence successfully and therefore act as a deterrent

Question 25

How is social learning theory relevant to understanding general deterrence?

Answer 25

Social learning theory is relevant to understanding general deterrence. If would-be offenders see a model (one of their peers, for example) being punished for offending, they will be less likely to imitate that behaviour

Question 26

Criticisms

Summarise six criticisms of deterrence as an aim of punishment.

Answer 26

• There is very little evidence that short, sharp shocks or boot camps reduced youth offending in either the UK or the USA
• The fact that about half of all prisoners re-offend within a year of release suggests that prison is not an effective deterrent
• How do we decide how severe a punishment needs to be for it to deter enough would-be offenders?
• Deterrence assumes would-be offenders know what the punishments are, but they may be ignorant of the penalties
• Deterrence assumes offenders act rationally, carefully weighing up the risks. But some act irrationally, driven by their emotions without thought for the likely punishment
• People who break laws they see as unjust are unlikely to be deterred by punishment

Question 27

Public protection

How does incapacitation of offenders protect the public?

Answer 27

Punishment may be used to protect the public from further offending by incapacitating offenders. Incapacitation is the use of punishment to remove the offender’s physical capacity to offend again

Question 28

Describe six examples of incapacitation that have been used at different times and places.

Answer 28

• Execution of offenders, preventing them from committing any further crimes whatsoever
• Cutting off the hands of thieves
• Chemical castration of sex offenders
• Banishment e.g. in the early 19th century, convicts were often transported to Australia
• Foreign travel bans to prevent football hooligans attending matches abroad
• Curfews and electronic tagging to prevent further offending by restricting offenders’ movements

Question 29

Imprisonment

Why is it claimed that ‘prison works’?

Answer 29

It takes offenders out of circulation, it prevents them committing further crimes against the public

Question 30

Name three offences for which the Crime (Sentences) Act 1997 introduced mandatory jail sentences.

Answer 30

• Automatic life sentences for a second serious sexual or violent offence
• Seven years minimum for a third class A drug trafficking offence
• Three years minimum for a third domestic burglary conviction

Question 31

What did the Criminal Justice Act 2003 introduce to protect the public? For what crimes?

Answer 31

Introduced the idea of ‘imprisonment for public protection’ (IPP). This allowed courts to give an indeterminate sentence (one with no fixed release date) to a ‘dangerous offender’ who is convicted of certain serious violent or sexual offences - 2012 - Indeterminate sentences were abolished for new cases

Question 32

Summarise the ‘three strikes and you’re out’ policy used in the United States. Give an example of when this has been used.

Answer 32

These give offenders long prison sentences (including life) for a third offence, however minor, if either of their two earlier offences was a serious crime. For example, in 1995 Jerry Williams was given 25 years to life without parole, for stealing a slice of pizza (reduced to six years on appeal)

Question 33

Theory

Why would a biological theory, such as Lombroso’s. favour the use of incapacitation rather than rehabilitation as a way of protecting the public from crime?

Answer 33

Lombroso argued that criminals are biologically different from the rest of the population and it is not possible to change or rehabilitate them. He favoured sending habitual criminals into exile, for example detaining them on islands away from the public. Other biological theories of criminality have favoured chemical or surgical castration to incapacitate sex offenders

Question 34

Why would right realism see incapacitation as a way of protecting the public from crime?

Answer 34

A small number of persistent offenders are responsible for the majority of crimes, so incapacitating them with long prison sentences would significantly reduce the crime rate

Question 35

Criticisms

Summarise four criticisms of incapacitation as an aim of punishment.

Answer 35

• Incapacitation leads to longer sentences and long-term ‘warehousing’ of offenders with little hope of release. This leads to an ever-rising prison population and associated costs
• Incapacitation is a strategy of containment or risk management. It does nothing to deal with the causes of crime or to change offenders into law-abiding citizens
• The ‘three strikes’ principle re-punishes individuals for previous crimes
• It is unjust because it imprisons them for crimes that the law assumes they may commit in the future

Question 36

Reparation

What is meant by ‘reparation’?

Answer 36

Involves the offender making amends for a wrong they have done, whether to an individual victim, society as a whole, or both. The harm done can be both material and social

Question 37

Explain two ways in which reparation can be made for material damage.

Answer 37

• Financial compensation to the victim, e.g.
  paying for the cost of repairing damage done
  to someone’s property. Courts have the power
  to impose compensation orders on offenders
• Unpaid work to make reparation to society
  through Community Payback, for example
  removing graffiti from public buildings. This is
  imposed by the court

Question 38

Restorative justice

What do restorative justice schemes do?

Answer 38

Brings offender and victim together, often with the help of a mediator which allows for offenders to recognise the wrongfulness of their actions and makes amends for the social damage done

Question 39

How do these schemes benefit both the victim and the offender?

Answer 39

This allows the victim to explain the impact the crime has had. The offender can come to appreciate the harm they have caused, express their remorse and seek forgiveness. Restorative justice can help bring closure to the victim and reintegrate the offender into society

Question 40

Theory

Explain why labelling theory favours restorative justice.

Answer 40

Favours restorative justice as a way of reintegrating offenders into mainstream society. By enabling them to show genuine remorse, it permits their reintegration and prevents them being pushed into secondary deviance

Question 41

What is ‘restitutive justice’?

Answer 41

Reparations to put things back to how they were before the crime was committed

Question 42

Why would functionalists favour ‘restitutive justice’?

Answer 42

They believe it is essential for the smooth functioning of complex modern societies

Question 43

Criticisms

Summarise two criticisms of reparation as an aim of punishment.

Answer 43

• Reparation may not work for all types of offence. Compensation for damage to property or minor offences may be fairly straightforward, but can reparation be made for sexual or violent crimes? A rape victim may not want to face or forgive the rapist. And by definition, reparation to homicide victims is impossible
• Some regard reparation as too soft a form of punishment that lets offenders of lightly