ac 2.2

• a sentence the punishment a judge or magistrate gives to someone who commits a criminal offence
• there are 6 purposes of sentencing: deterrence, retribution, rehabilitation, public protection, reparation and denunciation
• retribution

  • based on the idea of punishment
  • criminals should get their 'just desserts'
  • based on 'an eye for an eye'
  • does not seek to reduce crime or alter the offenders future behaviour, only concerned about sentence given is proportionate to the crime
• Punishments that meet retribution: 'tariff' system, custodial sentences
• retribution unit 2 theory link - right realism, as the defendant is being punished which they consider to be the most important aim of punishment
• rehabilitation:

  • reform offenders so they are less likely to commit offences in the future (forward looking aim) in the hope that offenders behavioour will be altered by penalty imposed
• punishments that meet retribution: community sentences, probation orders, unpaid work
• rehabilitation unit 2 theory link - left realism, they regard social factors like unemployment, poverty and poor education as causes of crime, this means addressing needs will help to reduce offending
• deterrence

  • intended to ensure that the offender does not re-offend through fear of future punishment, both individual and general:
  • individual -the punishment that the offender received should deter them from committing more crime e.g suspended sentence
  • general - aims to make an example of offender to warn off potential offenders so they see what punishment they could get e.g custodial sentence
• punishment that meets deterrence - prison sentences, heavy finees, long sentences (to make examples to others)
• deterrence unit 2 theory link - social learning theory, they may suggest that prison sentences are not deterring people from committing crime as there are high re-offending rates (42%) and that prisons are also 'universities of crime' where people learn how to do crime
• public protection:

  • protect the public from dangerous offenders
  • criminal justice act (2003) introduced a provision for serious offences that where the court is in the opinion the offender poses significant risk to public they must be sent to prison
• punishment that meets public protection - prison sentences crime sentencing act (1997) introduced mandatory minimum sentences for jail sentences for repeat offenders, automatic life sentences for second serious sexual/violent crimes
• public protection unit 2 theory link - biological theorists, they believe criminals are biologically different to non-criminals so it is not possible to rehabilitate them so having whole life tariffs would be supported by biological theorists
• reparation:

  • aimed at compensating the victims of the crime usually by ordering the offender to pay a sum of money to victim
  • can include writing a letter of apology, repairing any damage or meeting face to face to discuss (known as restorative justice)
  • also an increasing number of schemes for victims and offenders to work together so reparation is achieved