UK responses to crime

Question 1

essay plan for evaluate the religious responses to the moral issues raised by custodial sentences

Answer 1

define custodial sentences
give examples - suspended, determinate, life
moral issue - stigma surrounding criminal record makes employers reluctant to employ them and they could fall back into crime as a result of poverty
religious response - Our father - analysis of what it would mean for Christians
evaluate - make own judgement
moral issue - the treatment of prisoners, cell time, food
statistic from the Scottish prisoner survey
religious response - stewardship - analysis of what it would mean for Christians
make a judgement
moral issue - they do nothing to address the cause of crime, Prisons are too crowded for staff to address the underlying issues like drug addiction that lead people to commit crimes, so inmates often don’t get the help they need to overcome these problems.
religious response - Zacchaeus in the New Testament of the Christian Bible - analysis of what it would mean for Christians
evaluate - make own judgement

Question 2

what are custodial sentences

Answer 2

when offenders are imprisoned for their crime. these sentences are served for the most serious offences.

Question 3

what are the different types of custodial sentences

Answer 3

suspended sentences - when a judge gives an offender a prison sentence of 14 days to 2 years, but doesn’t send them to jail right away. Instead, the offender gets a chance to avoid prison by staying out of trouble and following certain rules. If they break the rules, they’ll have to serve the original sentence.

determinate sentence - A determinate sentence is a fixed prison term set by the court. Offenders usually serve at least half of this sentence in prison before they can be released

life sentence - a person is subject to imprisonment for the rest of their life. The judge specifies a minimum term they must serve before they can apply for parole.

Question 4

quote for our father to custodial sentences

Answer 4

‘forgive us our trespassers, as we forgive those who trespass against us’

Question 5

analysis of our father to custodial sentences

Answer 5

they would believe that once a prisoner has served their sentence its not fair to hold their sentence against them and deny them of a second chance

Question 6

statistic from scottish prisoner survey about the treatment of prisoners

Answer 6

the leading cause of death in prison is heart disease

Question 7

what is stewardship in relation to the treatment of prisoners

Answer 7

the belief that humans were created with a duty of caring for the world and everything in it - including prisoners

Question 8

analysis of stewardship in relation to the treatment of prisoners

Answer 8

we should treat prisoners the same way as anyone else with respect and kindness and they would opt for better treatment of prisoners

Question 9

explain the story of Zacchaeus in the New Testament of the Christian Bible

Answer 9

Zacchaeus was a corrupt chief tax collector who stole money from people. Zacchaeus then met Jesus and changed his life and repaid his victims

Question 10

analysis of the story of zacchaeus for custodial sentences

Answer 10

believe that everyone can change their ways with the right support and help, just as Zacchaeus changed his ways, as there is no such thing as a lost cause. A further consequence of this is that the Government may have to invest money to support people to change while in prison so that they can leave the cause of crime that landed them in prison behind them when they walk out the prison gates

Question 11

essay plan for evaluate the non- religious responses to the moral issues raised by custodial sentences

Answer 11

define custodial sentences
give examples - suspended, determinate, life
moral issue - stigma surrounding criminal record makes employers reluctant to employ them and they could fall back into crime as a result of poverty
non- religious response - humanism opportunity for growth - analysis of what it would mean
evaluate - make own judgement
moral issue - the treatment of prisoners, cell time, food
statistic from the Scottish prisoner survey
non - religious response -United Nations Human Rights Declaration - analysis of what it would mean
make a judgement
moral issue - they do nothing to address the cause of crime, Prisons are too crowded for staff to address the underlying issues like drug addiction that lead people to commit crimes, so inmates often don’t get the help they need to overcome these problems.they do nothing to deter people from committing crime as crime is often committed to feed an expensive drug habit.
non- religious response -utilitarianism greatest good for greatest amount - analysis of what it would mean
evaluate - make own judgement

Question 12

what does the humanist opportunity for growth say in relation to stigma surrounding employment

Answer 12

humans have the ability to grow and improve and achieve more so anything that prevents a person doing this is not morally acceptable

Question 13

what does the United Nations Human Rights Declaration state

Answer 13

“No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment and punishment.”

Question 14

analysis of United Nations Human Rights Declaration

Answer 14

the treatment of prisones is unacceptable

Question 15

analysis of utilitarian response to cause of crime

Answer 15

the issue is that although criminals may face a custodial sentence, the benefits could outweigh the cons as the sentences might deter others from committing crime which would positively impact the majority of people in society as there would be fewer crimes and fewer victims suffering.It would also result in society feeling safer and having a sense of ‘justice being served’ due to the severity and harshness of the punishment which might lead to greater faith in the justice system.

Question 16

essay plan for evaluate the religious responses to the moral issues raised by non-custodial sentences

Answer 16

define non-custodial sentences
give an example of a non-custodial sentence - community payback order - explain it
moral issue - is that they do not do anything to tackle some of the causes of crime like drug addiction which would require more specialist rehabilitation services.
religious response - the story of Zacchaeus in the New Testament - analysis of what it would mean for Christians
evaluate - make your own judgement
give another example of non custodial sentence tagging - explain it
moral issue- the victim of the crime may meet the offender in the community during the hours that they are allowed out of the house and feel that the justice system has let them down by giving this sentence as an alternative to prison.
religious response - the Book of Exodus in the Old Testament - analysis of what it means for Christians
evaluate - make your own judgement
give another example of non custodial sentence - fines - explain it
moral issue - is who decides what level of compensation a victim deserves for the suffering they have experienced
religious response - Our father - analysis, what it means for Christians
evaluate - make your own judgement

Question 17

define non-custodial sentences

Answer 17

sentences that dont include being imprisoned

Question 18

explain what community payback order is

Answer 18

Community Payback Orders are an alternative to prison, requiring offenders to give back to their communities through unpaid, constructive work. These orders are used for various crimes like theft or assault and typically involve tasks that benefit the local area, such as cleaning beaches, removing graffiti, or repainting community spaces. Offenders must complete 80 to 300 hours of work under the supervision of a Community Service Officer.

Question 19

analysis of the story of Zacchaeus in the New Testament in relation to CPOs

Answer 19

believe that everyone can change their ways with the right support and help as there is no such thing as a lost cause. This religious response shows that Christians would be in favour of any sentence which helped people to change so would support adding drug addiction treatment to the community payback order of someone who commits crime because of drug addiction or support in getting a job for people who commit crime due to poverty and unemployment such as help in filling in job applications.

Question 20

explain what tagging is

Answer 20

Electronic tagging orders are an alternative to prison, requiring offenders to stay at home during specific hours, typically from 7pm to 7am. The offender wears a GPS ankle tag, resembling a large wristwatch. If they leave home without permission, the police are notified, which could lead to court action or custody for violating the order.

Question 21

quote from the Book of Exodus in the Old Testament in relation to tagging

Answer 21

“you are to take life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth.”

Question 22

analysis of the book of exodus in relation to tagging

Answer 22

A consequence of this religious response is that non-custodial sentences like electronic tagging might be considered too soft as the criminal does not have to experience the same pain as the victim of their crime as they only have to stay in their own home with all their home comforts.

Question 23

explain what fines are

Answer 23

Fines are a non-custodial sentence where the offender must pay money to the court within a certain period of time.

Question 24

analysis of our father in relation to fines

Answer 24

A consequence of this is that Jesus who Christians believe to be fully God is telling Christians that they should forgive others for their sins in the same way that they would like forgiveness for their sins.

Question 25

essay plan for evaluate the non-religious responses to the moral issues raised by non-custodial sentences

Answer 25

define non-custodial sentences
give an example of a non-custodial sentence - community payback order - explain it
moral issue - is the humiliation of having to carry out work in the community wearing a high visibility jacket saying “Community Payback” on the back.
non- religious response - United Nations Human Rights Declaration - analysis of what it would mean
evaluate - make your own judgement
give another example of non custodial sentence tagging - explain it
moral issue- the victim of the crime may meet the offender in the community during the hours that they are allowed out of the house and feel that the justice system has let them down by giving this sentence as an alternative to prison.
non- religious response - utilitarianism greatest good for greatest amount- analysis of what it means for utilitarians
evaluate - make your own judgement
give another example of non custodial sentence - fines - explain it
moral issue - A moral issue arising from fines is that an offender committing crimes as a result of financial hardship may find himself in greater financial difficulty as a result of having to set aside money every week to pay his fine.
non-religious response - Scottish Violence Reduction unit- analysis, what it means
evaluate - make your own judgement

Question 26

analysis of united nations human rights in relation to CPOs

Answer 26

they would not be in favour of any sentence which was cruel or degrading such as forcing people to undertake work in public wearing bright orange jackets while cleaning graffiti or pick up litter.

Question 27

analysis of utilitarianism to tagging

Answer 27

the offender could still pose a risk to society when they are allowed to be outside of their home which means it will not keep society safe from the criminal which would negatively impact the majority of people in society as there would be more crimes and more fear of crime. therefore they would do all to prevent the victim from seeing offender

Question 28

what does Scottish Violence Reduction unit aim to do

Answer 28

reduce crime by treating it like a preventable disease and tackling the root causes of crime such as poverty in the same way that you would tackle the root causes of health issues like the link between smoking and cancer

Question 29

analysis of scottish violence reduction unit in relation to fines

Answer 29

they would be against fines giving someone a fine to pay when they are committing crime because they are living in poverty is actually going to make the root cause of their crime worse and maybe lead them to committing more serious violence to get more money to survive and pay their fine.

Question 30

essay plan for evaluate the religious responses to the moral issues raised by capital punishment

Answer 30

define capital punishment
give examples of capital punishment
moral issue - some of its methods are viewed as being inhumane and arguably take away a human’s right not to face torture or cruel treatment
case study - clayton lockett
religious response - Pope Francis the leader of the Roman Catholic Church - analysis of what it would mean
evaluate - make own judgement
moral issue - is that it is final and irreversible and does not allow people to learn from their mistakes and change for the better.
religious response - Our father - analysis of what it would mean
evaluate - make own judgement
moral issue - is it fair for the government to be hypocritical
religious response - book of exodus 21:23-27 - analysis of what this would mean for Christians
evaluate - make your own judgement

Question 31

define capital punishment

Answer 31

the practice of executing someone as punishment for a specific crime after a legal trial has proven them guilty

Question 32

give examples of CP

Answer 32

electric chair - sends electric volts of 500 - 2000 into brain for 30 secs
lethal injection - the guilty is strapped to a table and injected with legal drugs
hanging - the guilty is stood on trapdoor with rope around neck. hands and feet tied and a hood over their head. the trapdoor opens and they free fall and neck is broken

Question 33

explain the case study of Clayton Lockett

Answer 33

clayton lockett suffered a botched execution in Oklahoma in 2014, after the executioners had trouble finding the vein for the sedative causing him to die over 40 minutes after the lethal drugs were injected, he was tortured before dying from a heart attack. His lawyer stated, “It looked like torture.”.

Question 34

what did Pope Francis the leader of the Roman Catholic Church say in relation to the inhumaneness of CP

Answer 34

“there is no humane way to take a human life”

Question 35

analysis of Pope Francis for inhumaneness

Answer 35

cruel methods of punishment like the Death Penalty would not be acceptable to Christians as it is a sentence of revenge and even so-called humane methods like lethal injection can be cruel and painful. A further implication is that some Christians would not support the use of painful methods of execution which inflict a cruel and inhumane death on the offender as it could result in the family members of prisoner being negatively affected due to the trauma of watching their loved one suffer.

Question 36

analysis of our father in relation to second chances in CP

Answer 36

Capital Punishment would not be acceptable to Christians as it is a sentence of revenge and does not give the offender the chance to reform and seek forgiveness for their actions

Question 37

quote from book of exodus 21:23-27 in relation to CP

Answer 37

‘eye for an eye, tooth for tooth’

Question 38

analysis of the book of exodus 21:23-27 in relation to hypocrisy

Answer 38

they would think that it is fair for the government to be hypocritical because its the right punishment as they deserve to get a taste of their own medicine

Question 39

essay plan for evaluate the non-religious responses to the moral issues raised by capital punishment

Answer 39

define capital punishment
give examples of capital punishment
moral issue - some of its methods are viewed as being inhumane and arguably take away a human’s right not to face torture or cruel treatment
case study - clayton lockett
religious response - Article 5 in the UN Declarations of Human Rights - analysis of what it would mean
evaluate - make own judgement
moral issue - is that it is final and irreversible and does not allow people to learn from their mistakes and change for the better.
religious response - utilitarianism greatest good for greatest amount - analysis of what it would mean
evaluate - make own judgement
moral issue - is it fair for the government to be hypocritical
religious response - - analysis of what this would mean for Christians
evaluate - make your own judgement

Question 40

analysis of Article 5 in the UN Declarations of Human Rights as a response to inhumane treatment in CP

Answer 40

execution methods can cause pain for the prisoner and also a great deal of humiliation. The UN would not support the use of these types of methods as these could also result in the family members of prisoner being negatively affected due to the trauma of watching their loved one suffer.

Question 41

analysis of utilitarianism as a response to CP

Answer 41

although criminals are not given a second chance, the benefits could outweigh the cons as the use of Capital Punishment may deter others from committing the crime which would positively impact the majority of people in society as there would be fewer murders