2.2 discuss the aims of punishment

Question 1

what does the law say the 5 aims of punishment are?

Answer 1

1. crime reduction - deterrence
2. retribution
3. rehabilitation
4. public protection
5. reparation

Question 2

retribution

what is retribution?

Answer 2

retribution is the idea of seeking a punishment equal to the crime

Question 3

retribution

what is the aim of retributive justice?

Answer 3

to get criminals to understand the weight of their actions or to incapacitate them completely

Question 4

retribution

what are some examples of retributive punishments?

Answer 4

1. death penalty
2. corporal punishment
3. hard labour
4. blood money
5. whole life imprisonment tarrifs

Question 5

retribution

why should the death penalty be used?

Answer 5

1. completely incapacitates offenders
2. may be seen as the only punishment which can achieve retribution (equal punishment) for the crime committed

Question 6

retribution

why should corporal punishment be used?

Answer 6

1. acts as a deterrent for others
2. can achieve retribution as individuals are exposed clear pain and punishment

Question 7

retribution

why should hard labour be used?

Answer 7

1. society can complete jobs that need to be done using this
2. allows individuals to be punished for their crime whilst also performing rehabilitation as offenders effectively have a job

Question 8

retribution

why should blood money be used?

Answer 8

1. can help the family or affected individuals to pay for costs such as a funeral - reparation

Question 9

retribution

why shouldnt blood money be used?

Answer 9

it doesnt perform the aims of punishment very well
1. Reparation - offenders may not be that affected by the money they give and it does not force offenders to think about their actions
2. Rehabilitation - doesn’t target the route cause of crime

Question 10

retribution

why should whole life imprisonment tarrifs be used?

Answer 10

1. incapacitates offenders
2. apart from the death penalty, this is the harshest punishment given out so it performs retribution relatively well

Question 11

retribution

what theories would see retributive justice as a good thing?

Answer 11

1. right realism
2. functionalism

Question 12

retribution

what are some criticisms of retributive justice?

Answer 12

1. it makes justice into a transaction
2. it makes it more difficult to consider mitigating factors
3. it prioritises punishment over treatment
4. it dehumanises offenders - ethical concerns
5. Doesn’t target underlying causes of crime

Question 13

rehabilitation

what is rebilitation?

Answer 13

rehabilitation is the idea that punishment can be used to reform or change offenders so they can go on to live a crime-free life by targeting the root cause of crime

Question 14

rehabilitation

what theories link to rehabilitation?

Answer 14

1. individualistic theories
2. left realism
3. biochemical theories
4. Labelling theory

Question 15

rehabilitation

what are the strengths of rehabilitation

Answer 15

1. Rehabilitation focus on solving the underlying issues of why individuals commit crime such as drug addiction
2. Rehabilitation allows offenders to develop skills which they can use when they are released from prison
3. By showing offenders that they can be successful members of society, rehabilitation can serve as a deterrent to future criminal activity

Question 16

rehabilitation

what are the weaknesses of rehabilitation?

Answer 16

1. There are a lack of resources in prisons to effectively carry out many of the rehabilitation programmes
2. Rehabilitation is not being implemented as it should be as statistics show that 53% of prisoners are in their cell for more than 22 hours a day in the week
3. Statistics show that rehabilitation is not overly effective as there is a 39% recidivism rate within the first year of release and 75% within nine years
4. Rehabilitation may only have an effect on offenders who are open to being rehabilitated

Question 17

rehabilitiation

give some examples of rehabilitation programmes

Answer 17

1. drug and alcohol treatment programmes
2. token economies
3. eduation such as vocational training
4. anger management programmes
5. Paid jobs in prison

Question 18

deterrence

what is deterrence?

Answer 18

deterrence is the fear of being caught and punished, which prevents individuals from committing crime

Question 19

deterrence

what is general deterrence?

Answer 19

general deterrence aims to deter society in general from breaking the law

Question 20

deterrence

what is individual deterrent?

Answer 20

individual deterrent is punishment to defer the individual from reoffending

Question 21

deterrence

give some example of individual deterrents

Answer 21

fines, sentences, community service

Question 22

deterrence

what is the serverity vs the certainty of punishment?

Answer 22

The certainity of punishment is the probability of punishment being imposed if an offence is committed
The severity reflects the magnitude of the punishment

Question 23

deterrence

Why may right realists favour deterrence as an aim of punishment?

Answer 23

right realists believe in rational choice theory, so deterrence will make the costs of a crime higher, so the individuals make the rational choice not to commit the crime

Question 24

deterrence

why would social learning theory favour deterrence as an aim of punishment?

Answer 24

social learning theory argues that individuals learn behaviour from watching others, so if they see others being punished for a crime, individuals are less likely to imitate the behaviour they are being punished for

Question 25

# deterrence does deterrence work? - what do the statistics show?

Answer 25

deterrence is not overly effective - recidivism rate in the UK is around 26% - in the year ending March 2022, 32.2% of young offenders (10 to 17 year olds) reoffended

Question 26

# public protection what does public protection aim to do to offenders?

Answer 26

public protection aims to incapacitate offenders

Question 27

# public protection what does it mean to incapacitate offenders?

Answer 27

to incapacitate an offender means to remove their physical ability to commit criminal acts

Question 28

# public protection give examples of punishments which incapacitate offenders

Answer 28

death penalty, life imprisonment, castration, lobotomy, banishment

Question 29

# public protection the idea that incapacitation is essential for public protection has......

Answer 29

influenced sentencing laws in the uk and elsewhere

Question 30

# public protection what mandatory minimum jail sentences for repeat offenders were introduced by the crime act 1997?

Answer 30

1. mandatory life sentence for second serious offence 2. minimum of 7 years for a third class A drug trafficking offence 3. minimum of three years for a third domestic burglary

Question 31

# public protection what did the criminal justice act 2003 introduce which was later abolished in 2012?

Answer 31

IPP sentences

Question 32

# public protection what is the three strikes law in the US?

Answer 32

a defendant with two or more strikes prior, faces a minimum of 25 years to life in prison

Question 33

# public protection how might biological theories of criminality support incapacitiation?

Answer 33

if individuals are biologically predetermined to commit crime, the only way to stop an individual from committing a crime is to remove them from society

Question 34

# public protection what are some criticisms of incapacitation?

Answer 34

1. incapacitative sentences such as the three strikes principle effectively just repunish criminals for previous crimes 2. selective incapactitation punishes individuals for crimes they havent committed yet 3. incapactitative sentences are frequently dispensed to young people who may grow out of their criminal activity

Question 35

# reparation what is reparation?

Answer 35

reparation involves the offender making amends for the wrong they have done either to a victim, society or both

Question 36

# reparation how may an offender make reparations?

Answer 36

community work or paying the victim or the family of the victim

Question 37

# reparation what is restorative justice?

Answer 37

restorative justice is making amends for the social damage the offender has caused, this can be done through restorative justice schemes which bring offender and victim together

Question 38

# reparation what are the advantages/benefits of restorative justice?

Answer 38

1. can help the offender to apprechiate the harm that they have caused 2. makes justice in the hands of the community 3. considers the interests of offenders and victims as it gives offenders a constructive way to repair the damage they have done 4. allows for more proportionate punishments

Question 39

# reparation how might labelling theory see restorative justice?

Answer 39

restorative justice allows society to see the individual who committed the crime as a person rather than just a criminal which takes away the label and stops them becoming marginalised

Question 40

# reparation what are some criticisms of restorative justice?

Answer 40

1. for some types of offences such as rap, it is not appropriate to bring offenders together 2. for some crimes, sorry is not enough and a victim should not be expected to forgive the offender

Question 41

# reparation according to the ministery justice evaluation of restorative justice, what was the effect on reoffending?

Answer 41

restorative justice led to a 14% reduction in reoffending

Question 42

# reparation according to the ministry of justice, what % of victims were satisfied with the process of meeting their offender face to face?

Answer 42

85% of victims