Ac2.2

• Civil crime prevention: replaces the old ASBOs which can control offences like using your property as a dumping ground - breaches can in cure fines or prison sentences
• community sentence: a sentence given to an offender who is not sent to prison but is required to carry out unpaid work in the community
• corporal punishment: the use of physical force to discipline a adolescent
• curfews: limits the time an offender may be allowed in the public
• death penalty: punishment for murder by hanging or shooting
• judge - has unlimited powers to sentence but are restricted by the sentence the offence carries
• magistrate - have limited powers for 1 offence it can lead to 6 months in prison and/or £5,000 fine

  • 2 or more offences 12 months imprisonment and/or £10,000 fine
• what factors can influence views on punishment?

  • actions of individuals and pressure groups
  • the media
  • social changes
  • new ideas in education and politics
• actions of individuals and pressure groups - prison reform and Howard league
• the media - newspapers, public awareness, campaigns for tougher sentences for paedophiles and terrorists
• social change - industrialisation, urbanisation and inner cities, technology and science, social construction of norms and values
• new ideas in education and politics - enlightenment and science - humane treatment, liberalism and tolerance, socialism and sympathy for poor, broken windows and zero tolerance
• police - can give out cautions and condition charges as well as fixed penalty notices
• criminal justice act (2003) section 42 defines the purpose of sentencing as:

  ” the punishment of offenders; the reduction of crime (including its reduction by deterrence); the reform and rehabilitation of offenders; the protection of the public; and the making of reputation by offenders to persons affected by their offence.”
• what are the 5 aims of sentencing/punishment?

  • retribution
  • deterrence
  • rehabilitation
  • protection of the public
  • reparation
• retribution - expressing society’s outrage at crime and punishing offenders accordingly was a form of discipline/ ‘just desserts’
• deterrence - discouraging future offending and reducing crime with a punishment that is sufficiently unpleasant - the ultimate deterrent being execution
• Rehabilitation - ensuring that offenders are reformed and change their behaviour through sentencing that includes education and therapy
• protection of the public - punishment is used to incapacitate the offender and remove their ability to reoffend to keep the public safe
• reparation - punishment is used to repair the damage and make good the harm caused by crime. giving back to society
• denunciation - the punishment aims to show offenders that society disapproves of their behaviour and that it is unacceptable and so the punishment can act as vindication to make sure that the law is respected. it will help to reinforce the moral, social and ethical codes as they may have changed over time
• which theory links to denunciation?

  labelling theory
• Retribution


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


  • It is based on the idea that the offender deserves punishment and therefore is a display of public revulsion for the offence and offender
  • It is a way for society to express its moral outrage and condemnation at the offender
  • It has a large element of revenge and the victim and society are being avenged for the wrong done
  • The offender has breached society's moral code and is morally entitled to take its revenge
  • It provides an appropriate punishment to provide a compensating measure of justice for both the offender and victim
• Retribution


  It is often expressed as criminals getting their 'just desserts' which defines justice in terms of fairness and proportionality
• Proportionality


  Punishment fitting the crime as it should be equal and proportionate to the harm done
• Retribution


  It leads to punishment in terms of a 'tariff' system or fixed scale of mandatory penalties for different offences
• Retribution does not seek to alter future behaviour, it is merely inflicting punishment
• Retribution is a backwards looking theory of punishment – it looks to the past to determine what to do in the present
• Punishments that clearly contain retribution

  • Mandatory life sentences for murder
  • Higher tariff sentences for crimes with a hate motive
  • Death penalty – abolished in the UK in 1965 but legal in 30 US states
• How does retribution link to right realism?

  it wants to reinforce harsher punishment
• how does retribution link to rational choice theory?

  the harsher punishments may act as a deterrence and so will be up to the offender to decide Howe they want to act and the harsher punishment will act as a deterrence
• criticisms of retribution:

  • some people argue that offenders deserve forgiveness, mercy or at the very least a chance to make amends not punishment
  • if there are fixed tariffs, then punishment has to be inflicted even when an offender has shown complete remorse
  • it prioritises punishment over treatment
• Rehabilitation aims - to alter the offenders mindset so that future offending can be prevented
• aim on rehabilitation - reform offenders and reintroduce them into society so they can on to live a crime free life