ac 2.2

Question 1

what is deterrence?

Answer 1

• idea= put something off doing something.
• fear of being caught and punished might deter people from committing crime.
• can either be: general, individual.

Question 2

what is individual deterrence?

Answer 2

• individual (or specific) deterrence uses punishment to deter individual offender from reoffending.
• punishment: can convince offender its not worth repeating the experience.
• example: ‘prison works’ argument.
• idea: if sentences are tough enough then offenders won’t want to cop back to jail.
• Thatcher and short sharp shock.
• borstals to deter young offenders.
  -USA: similar military- style boot camps around the same time and same aim.

Question 3

what is general deterrence?

Answer 3

• aims at the whole of society- deter everyone from breaking the law.
• aim: if public see an individual offender being punished, they will see what they will have to sacrifice and suffer.
• making an example of the individuals will have a general effect and teach everyone a lesson.
• historical examples of general deterrence: public executions, flogging/ putting offenders in stocks.
• today: public are more aware to learn from the media.

Question 4

what is severity vs certainty?

Answer 4

• important to distinguish between severity of punishment and certainty of it.
• however severe the punishment might be for an offence, if there is very little chance of being caught and convicted then its unlikely to deter offenders.
• example mandatory minimum sentence 3 years for your 3rd domestic burglary.
• only about 5% of reported burglaries result in a successful conviction.
• likelihood of facing punishment is low= no deterrence.
• however if an offender is likely to be caught or its guaranteed that they will relatively mild punishment may be an effective deterrent.

Question 5

what is public protection/ incapacitation?

Answer 5

• known as ‘incapacitation’.
• used to protect the public from further offending by incapacitating offenders.
• used to remove offenders physical capacity (ability) to offend again.
• different types of incapacitation:
• execution- preventing offenders from committing any further crimes whatsoever.
• cutting off the hands of thieves.
• chemical castration- sex offenders.
• travel bans- prevent football hooligans offending matches abroad.
• curfews and tagging- prevent further offending by restricting movements.

Question 6

what is imprionment in terms of public protection and incapacitation?

Answer 6

• main means of incapacitation in society.
• important part of the claim that ‘prison works’.
• taking offenders out of circulation prevents them from committing further crimes in public.
• incapacitation for public protection has influenced sentencing laws.

Question 7

what is the crime sentences act 1997?

Answer 7

• introduced mandatory minimum sentences for repeat offenders:
• automatic life sentences for 2nd serious sexual or violent offence.
• 7 years minimum for 3rd class A drug trafficking offence.
• 3 years minimum for 3rd domestic burglary.

Question 8

what is the criminal justice act 2003?

Answer 8

• ‘imprisonment for public protection’.
• allows courts to give indeterminate sentence (no fixed release date) to ‘dangerous’ offenders.
• abolished in 2012 for new cases.

Question 9

what is the USA 3 strikes law 1990?

Answer 9

• give offenders long prison sentences (including life) for 3rd offence however minor even if the other 2 were serious.
• example: 1995 jerry williams given 25 years (no parole) for stealing a slice of pizza (reduced to 6 years on appeal).

Question 10

what is right realism in relation to incapacitation?

Answer 10

• see incapacitation as a way of protecting the public from crime.
• small number of persistent offenders= responsible for majority of crimes.
• incapacitating them with long prison sentences= significantly reduce crime rates.

Question 11

what biological theories relate to incapacitation?

Answer 11

• lombroso: criminals= biologically different from the rest of population and not possible to rehabilitate.
• favoured sending habitual criminals into exile ( detaining them on islands away from public).
• chemical castration or surgical castration to in capacitate sex offenders.

Question 12

what are the disadvantages of incapacitation?

Answer 12

• leads to longer sentences and long term ‘warehousing’ of offenders with little hope and release.
• leads to ever-rising prison population and associated costs.
• strategy of containment or risk management; does nothing to deal with cars of crime or change offenders into law-abiding citizens.
• 3 strikes principle re-punishes individuals for previous crimes.
• unjust- imprisons them for crimes that the law assumes they may commit in the future.

Question 13

what is rehabilitation?

Answer 13

• idea= punishment can be used to reform or change offenders- no longer offend and can go on to live a crime free life.
• uses various treatment programmes to change offenders future behaviour.
• addresses the issues which led to their offending.

Question 14

what are the rehabilitation policies?

Answer 14

• education and training programmes- prisoners can avoid unemployment and ‘earn an honest living’ on release.
• anger management courses- aggression replacement training (ART) for violent offenders; other cognitive behavioural therapy programmes.
• drug treatment and testing orders- treating alcohol and drug dependence.
• community sentences often include requirements for offenders too engage in such programmes as part of their sentence.

Question 15

what support is given in relation to rehabilitation?

Answer 15

• support:
• generally require offenders to actively want to change their lives.
• often also require considerable input of resources and professional support: therapists, probation officers.
• applicable to: offending that has led to their exclusion from society, offenders need to be reintegrated into the community.

Question 16

What is reparation?

Answer 16

• idea= involves the offender making amends for the wrong they’ve done.
• victim, society or both.
• harm considered: material and social.

Question 17

what different ways can offenders make amends?

Answer 17

• financial compensation:
• mainly to the victim/victims family.
• example- paying costs for repairing physical damage done to someones property.
• courts have the power to impose compensation orders on offenders.
• unpaid work:
• make reparation to society through community payback.
• example- removing graffiti from public buildings.
• imposed by the court through community order.

Question 18

what is restorative justice?

Answer 18

• allows the victim/victims family to meet the offender and explain the impact the crime has had with a mediator.
• gives the offender a chance to- appreciate the harm caused, express their remorse, seek forgiveness.
• helps make amends for the social darmage done.
• offender recognise the wrongfulness of their actions.
• can help bring closure to victim/victims family and reintegrate offender in society.

Question 19

how can we apply theory to reparation?

Answer 19

• factionalism:
• Durkheim- ‘restitutive justice’- reparation. to put things back to how they were before the crime was committed- is essential for the smooth functioning of society.
• labelling theory: way of reintegrating offenders back in society- showing genuine remorse it prevents secondary deviance.

Question 20

what are the criticisms of reparation?

Answer 20

• reparation doesn’t work for all types of offences.
• compensation might be straight forward for damage to property/minor offences but its not for serious/violent offences.
• some regard it as ‘to soft’ as a form of punishment.

Question 21

what is retribution?

Answer 21

• idea= criminals should get ‘just deserts’.
• offenders deserve to be punished and society is morally right to take revenge .
• offenders made to suffer for breaching social moral code.

Question 22

what is proportionality?

Answer 22

• proportionality:
• punishment should fit the crime.
• equal and proportionate to the harm done- eye for an eye- reason for death penalty?
• tariff system or fixed scale for proportionality.
• sentencing guidelines.
• mandatory (compulsory) penalties.

Question 23

what are the good effects of retribution?

Answer 23

• good effects:
• deterring potential offenders.
• instead- triggers moral outrage.
• society expressed moral outrage and condemns offenders.
• punishment= morally good in itself regardless of whether it changes offenders behaviour.
• retribution= justification for punishing crimes already committed not preventing.