what are the 5 aims of punishment
- retribution
- rehabilitation
3.deterance - public protection
5.reparation
how is retribution an aim of punishment
-inflicts punishment on offender to express society condemnation to crime, idea criminals should get their ‘just deserts’ and deserved too be punished(is morally good)/society is entitled to revenge for breaching moral code eg hate crimes carry a higher tariff sentence to reflect society’s greater outrage to offence (gbh=5yrs, 7yrs if racially motivated)
-belive in proportionality = punishment should fit the crime ‘eye for an eye’ = leads to tariff system or fixed scale of mandatory sentences for offences
evaluate retribution
P-rational choice theory, offenders are fully responsible for actions therefore must suffer society outrage
P-functionalism, retribution performs function of boundary maintenance=reminds right and wrong
C-offenders deserve forigveness not punishment
C-how do we decide what is a proportionate penalty/just dessert
C-tariff system=punishment inflicted even if no benefit
how is rehabilitation a form of punishment
-uses punishment to reform eg treatment programmes to change offenders futures/address issues of offending so they no longer offend
- policies in community sentences eg education+training programmes/ART-aggression replacement training/drug treatment+testing orders
-requires offenders to actively want change and input of resources/professional support to achieve esp when their offending has excluded from mainstream society
evaluate rehabilitation
P-cognitive theory,teaching offenders/correcting thinking errors helps reduce criminality
P-eysenck personality theory favours aversion therapy to make patients give up an undesirable habit
P-skinner operant learning theory, token economies
C-right realists say offenders will reoffend after programmes
C-marxists argue programmes shift repsonsibility onto individual rather than capitalism which causes crime
how is deterrence a form of punishment
-individual deterrence uses punishment to deter the offender from re-offending because its not worth repeating the experience eg tough sentences ‘prison works’
-general deterrence is if public see an offender being punished they will see what they suffer eg media reports
-uses severity vs certainty-however severe the punishment is if there is little chance of being caught it won’t be a deterrence eg min sentence for a 3rd domestic burglary is 3 yrs but 5% of reported burglaries have successful conviction=liklihood punishment low
evaluate deterrence
P-rational choice theory,sees individuals rational actors=punishments/getting caught will deter
P-situational crime prevention startegies=target hardening makes offending harder=deterance
C-1/2 all prisoners re-offend within year of release
C-how severe punishment needed for deterance?
C-assumes people act rationally
how is public protection a form of punishment
-incapacitation=protects public from further offending, removes psychical capacity to offend
eg past=chemical castraction of sex offenders
eg modern=imprisonment=takes offenders out of circulation
-criminal justice act 2003 allowed courts to give indeterminate sentence to a ‘dangerous’ offender
evaluate public protection
P-biological theories, argued criminals are biologically different, cant change, so favoured sending them away to protect
P-right realists, small number of offenders are responsible for maj of crimes so long prison sentences would reduce crime rate
C-longer sentences=increasing prison pop/costs
C-containment=dosent deal with causes
C-3 strikes punishes for past offences
how is reparation a form of punishment
-offender making amends for their wrong eg to victim for society
-compensation/unpaid work (community orders)/restorative justice schemes (make amends by recognising wrong/closure/reintegrate offender back into society)
evaluate reparation
P-labelling theory-enabling them to show remorse prevents being pushed into secondary deviance
P-fucntionalists-reparation puts things back to how they were before crime-essential for functioning modern societies
C-dosent work for every offence-no reparation can be made for sexual/violent/homocide crimes
C-too soft punishment ?
