Aims of Sentencing (law)

• Initial main act


  S142 of Criminal Justice Act 2003
• Act of Parliament that brought other acts together

  Sentencing Act 2020

  Contained a sentencing code, doesn't replace anything under the CJA but gives one act of parliament to reference.
• 5 main aims (where were they laid out, Act of Parliament + Section)

  S142 Criminal Justice Act 2003

  Amended by S57 of the Sentencing Act 2020
• 5 main aims (what were they)

  Punishment

  Protection of the Public

  Reduction of crime

  Rehabilitation

  Reparation
• Punishment aims


  Punishing the offender for the offence they have committed through retribution and denunciation.
• Retribution


  Ensure that D is punished to the same extent as the harm they enacted - Revenge and justice for the victim.

  Comes from the biblical saying "an eye for an eye".

  Ensures D gets their 'just deserts
• Denunciation


  Punishment must be proportionate to the crime, unless there is a 'moral outrage' where society condemns the behaviour.

  E.g. case of Sarah Payne, pedophile kidnapped a child and was put on a sex offenders register due to moral outrage (name and shame).
• Protection of the public

  To completely incapacitate someone fully, removing ability to offend. Achieved in two ways based on severity.
• Serious crimes protection


  Whole life order, long prison terms, removal from society.
• Less serious crimes protection

  Tag/curfew, restraining order.
• Reduction of crime


  To prevent future crime from occurring, deter individuals from offending. In two ways: individual deterrence, general deterrence.
• Individual deterrence


  Only affects the offender. Deters from committing further offences. E.g. Suspended sentence
• Individual deterrence juveniles


  'Short sharp shock', by Margret Thatcher, military detention centre.
• General deterrence


  Fear of punishment, where others are deterred. E.g. harsh sentences, in the London Riots, sentences were 1/3 higher than normal.

  E.g. Harper's law, life imprisonment for killing a service worker.
• Rehabilitation


  To change/reform behaviour to make a person law abiding
• Rehabilitation examples


  E.g. CBT (cognitive behaviour theory), re-educate morally and academically. Token economy systems. Orders from courts, drug treatment + testing order (DTTO)
• Reparation


  Repair damage, restorative justice. Achieved in two ways: To victim, to society.
• Victim


  Letter of apology or meet victim

  Communication occurs to give victim closure, shows remorse
• Society


  Community order, Giving back to community, paying back.
• Aggravating factors


  Increases sentence.

  E.g. Weapon, intoxication, premeditation, previous sentence.
• Mitigating factors


  Decreases sentence.

  E.g. First offence, Provocation, Vulnerability.