U2 AOS2 Crime Flashcards
What are the five types of crime?
- crime against person
- crime against property
- victimless crime
- white collar crime
- corporate crime
What are the general patterns of crime?
- increase
- decrease
UN Prevention of Crime looks at…
- illegal drug trade
- human trafficking
- terrorism
Factors that lead to crime
- poverty
- addiction
- rebellion
- abuse
SOCIOLOGICAL CONCEPT OF PUNISHMENT
Rationale and aims
- retribution
- deterrence
- rehabilitation
- societal protection
RETRIBUTION
- Meets people’s desire for revenge when someone has done something morally wrong.
- The punishment should ‘fit’ the crime itself (be equal in severity).
- The aim is therefore centred on the offender ‘getting what they deserve’ and restoring a moral balance between the victim and offender.
- Critics note retribution does little to change the offender’s behaviour but many still believe that revenge is an adequate reason for punishment.
DETERRENCE
- Aims to prevent future crime by deterring the offenders from doing it again.
- It is believed that we will not break the law if we think the pain of punishment would outweigh the pleasure of crime.
- In reality, the success of crime prevention programs varies.
- Deterrence can be:
- Specific: Discouraging the particular offender from committing more crimes
- General: Discouraging other potential offenders in the community from committing the crime in the future.
REHABILITATION
- Prevents crime by altering the offender’s behaviour: motivates the offender to conform to socially acceptable behaviours.
- Promotes the restoration of relations between the community, the offender and the victim.
- A more modern rationale on addressing crime.
SOCIETAL PROTECTION
- Prevents crime by removing the offender from society.
- Belief that society is ‘safer’ when offenders are incapable of reoffending by being incapacitated.
Incapacitation can be:
-Physical: e.g. taking away a driver’s licence for driving offences
-Geographic: Incarceration or home detention.
BRAITHWAITE’S THEORY OF SHAMING
___ VS___
- reintegrative shaming
- stigmatic shaming
REINTEGRATIVE SHAMING
- Communicates respectful disapproval
- Labels person as good but action as bad
- Offers acceptance and forgiveness so the individual can be reintegrated into society.
- In criminal punishment, usually occurs when offenders are made to come face to face with the effects of their crime on the victims.
STIGMATIC SHAMING
- Powerful disapproval and rejection of an individual, marking them as an outcast
- Braithwaite believed stigmatisation to be detrimental and ineffective
- Humiliating
- Labels the person and their actions as bad, which hinders reintegration
- Poses a threat to identity, which can lead to further crime (individual rebels against a society which has rejected them)
NATIONS RESPONSE TO CRIME
___,___,___
- usa
- australia
- norway
NATURE AND RATIONALE OF SENTENCING
sp, sf, sp, rj
- sentencing principles
- sentencing factors
- sentencing purposes
- restorative justice
SENTENCING PRINCIPLES
pny, pr, pty, t
Parsimony - The sentence must not be harsher than necessary
Proportionality - The punishment must match the gravity of the offending behaviour
Parity - Offences for similar crimes must yield similar sentences
Totality - The overall sentence must be just if more than one sentence is carried out - i.e being charged with multiple crimes at once
SENTENCING FACTORS
- Maximum penalties for an offence
- Current sentencing practices
- Nature and gravity of the offence
- Offender’s culpability - should they/can they be held responsible?
- Crime motivated by hatred or prejudice?
- Impact on the victim
- Personal circumstances of the victim
- Injury, loss or damage resulting from the offence
- Whether the offender pleaded guilty or not
- The offender’s previous character
- The presence of any aggravating or mitigating factors
SENTENCING PURPOSES
jp, d, r, d, cp, c
Just Punishment - Punishment that is fair to all
Deterrence - Prevention of similar crimes in future
Rehabilitation - Enable reintegration to society upon release
Denunciation - To condemn the behaviour publicly
Community Protection - To protect the people from offenders
Combination - A combination of two or more above factors
RESTORATIVE JUSTICE
- Restorative justice is a theory of justice that focuses on the harm caused by crime and wrongdoing to people, relationships and community. It provides a framework for addressing and preventing harm that moves beyond punishment towards healing.
EFFECTIVENESS OF SENTENCING
i, dto, cco, fau, dod
- imprisonment
- drug treatment order
- community correction order
- fine adjournment undertaking
- dismissal or discharge
Define Crime
An offence which causes harm and is punishable by the State on behalf of the general public, whose standards do not permit the offending behaviour.
Define punishment
The process whereby someone faces a penalty as retribution for an offence that they committed: it could be physical or financial
Define deterrent
An aim to discourage someone from doing something. It could be threat of a fine or some other punishment.
Define rehabilitate
In terms of crime and deviance, refers to the idea that we can restore someone to a normal life (such as being away from crime or other deviant behaviour) by offering therapy, support and training as part of or after imprisonment or addiction treatment.
