Punishment

• Functionalism and Punishment (1):

  > Durkheim - the function of punishment is to uphold social solidarity and reinforce shared values, through rituals such as public trials

  > punishment is primarily expressive - it expresses society's outrage at the incident
• Functionalism and Punishment (2):

  > functions of punishment vary based on the type of society:

  > traditional society = retributive - expressive purpose, as there is a strong collective conscience, severe and cruel punishments

  > modern society = restitutive - solidarity is based on interdependence (extensive specialisation - people have certain skills) which is damaged by crime, so it is important to repair damage, instrumental purpose e.g. Alton Towers incident restored trust with £5 million compensation
• Marxism and Punishment (1):

  > the function of punishment is to maintain the existing social order - as a part of the repressive state apparatus, it is a means of defending RC property against the lower classes

  > Thompson - 18th century punishments, such as hanging for theft, were part of the rule of terror by the landed aristocracy over the poor

  > the form of punishment reflects the class society e.g. fines only work in a money economy
• Marxism and Punishment (2):

  > Melossi and Pavarini - see imprisonment as reflecting capitalist relations of production

  > capitalism puts a price on the worker's time, and prisoners do 'time' to 'pay' for their crime

  > prisons and factories both have a similar disciplinary style, involving subordination and loss of liberty

  > prison punishes the WC by denying them the chance to earn a wage
• Surveillance and Punishment (1):

  > Foucalt - role of punishment is to have power over prisoners through surveillance

  > sovereign power (up to 1800) - monarchs had power, and punishment was a brutal and emotional spectacle (through public execution) that asserted control through visible punishment on the body e.g. branding

  > disciplinary power (1800 onwards) - power is now over bodies, minds and souls through surveillance. Brutal bodily punishment disappeared and became more civilised - Foucalt claims this change happened because surveillance is a more efficient 'technology of power'
• Surveillance and Punishment (2):

  > examples of surveillance - CCTV, medical records, performance monitoring in work, registers and reports in schools

  > surveillance is demonstrated by the panopticon - prisoners do not know if they are being watched, only that they might be being watched, so they behave at all times (self-surveillance)

  > surveillance occurs in all aspects of society - schools, work, hospitals
• Trends in Punishment (1):

  > in democracies that do not have the death penalty, imprisonment is seen as the most severe form of punishment

  > since the 1980s, politicians have sought popularity by calling for tougher sentences for both serious offenders and as a deterrent for persistent petty offenders - this has resulted in overcrowding

  > Garland - the USA and, to a lesser extent, the UK are moving into an era of mass incarceration
• Trends in Punishment (2):

  > the UK imprisons a higher proportion of people than almost any other country in Western Europe (the world leaders are Russia and USA)

  > the prison population is largely male, young and poorly educated - black and ethnic minority groups are over-represented

  > Garland argues that it is becoming the systematic imprisonment of whole groups, rather than of individual offenders

  > Downes - the US prison system soaks up about 30-40% of the unemployed, making capitalism look more successful (hides poverty created by capitalism)