Deterrence

• Deterrence can be either individual in respect of the offender or general with regards to society as a whole.
• Individual Deterrence


  The aim of individual deterrence is to ensure that the offender does not reoffend. A suspended sentence is clearly an example of individual deterrence, as the term of imprisonment will only activate if further offending occurs. If there is no reoffending the offender will not go to prison. Hence, the expectation that the impact of losing your liberty will prevent future offending.
• Individual Deterrence


  However, the recidivism rate would suggest that many prionsers are not deterred from committing crimes by the possibilty of a term of imprisonment. According to the Bromley Briefings Prison Factfile Autumn 2017: Prison has a poor record for reducing reoffending as 46% of adults are reconvicted within one year of release. For those serving sentences of less than 12 months this increases to 59%
• Think Theory: Individual Deterrence

  The above statistics may suggest that the social learning theory could account for criminality. Prisons are often classes as universities of crime so it may be that some offenders are learning how to commit more crime from fellow prisoners. The prevalent sub-culture such as a peer group is one of the main ways observational learning takes place.
• General Deterrence 


  The aim of general deterrence is to prevent potential offenders from committing a crime. However, often the impact of a sentence with the deterrent element is weakened by the fact that it relates to someone else. In addition, people are not always aware of the punishment that has been given by a court unless it is so severe that it is published by the media. This was seen in the harsh punishments given out during the 2011 London Riot cases.
• General Deterrence


  For example, two men, aged 21 and 22 years, were jailed for four years each after admitting using Facebook to incite disorder. However, no disorder took place as a result of their post. Also a 23 year old man was sentenced to six months in prison after stealing £3.50 worth of water.
• Thinking Theory: General Deterrence

  Marxists are likely to view criminality and the above punishments as inevitable given the capitalist society in which we live. The sentences given are a means to control the working class who are heavily policed in comparison to the upper classes.