AC 2.3 - Community Sentences

Question 1

what is a Community Sentence?

Answer 1

• combination of punishment with activities carried out in the community
• may be given after someone has completed a prison sentence
• may be given as a punishment on its own

Question 2

what could be given as a Community Sentence?

Answer 2

• drug / alcohol treatments
• electronic ankle tag / curfew
• unpaid work

Question 3

how do Community Sentences meet the aim of Retribution?

Answer 3

• for summary offences / low-level offences, CS fulfill punishment in proportion to the offence as prison would be too harsh
• all CS contain an element of retribution e.g curfews restrict movement, so offender is suffering as freedom is limited
• when carrying out unpaid work, they wear high visibility vests with ‘community payback’ on the back, which names and shames them

Question 4

how do Community Sentences not meet the aim of Retribution?

Answer 4

• 1/3 reoffend within a year, meaning revenge is not met
• CS is all about the causes of crimes, the opposite to retribution
• is it harsh enough?

Question 5

how do Community Sentences meet the aim of Rehabilitation?

Answer 5

• within 1 year 34% of people serving acts reoffend, compared to 63% off those serving short sentences in prison
• a CS is about understanding the causes & fixing them, which is exactly what rehabilitation wants
• CS allow people to change their behaviour

Question 6

how do Community Sentences not meet the aim of Rehabilitation?

Answer 6

• 1/3 reoffend within a year
• 50% of drug treatments reoffend within a year
• 56% reoffending rate in total
• in 2013, more than 75% of those going to prison the previous year had already served at least 1 CS

Question 7

how do Community Sentences meet the aim of deterrence?

Answer 7

• there is a lower reoffending rate than prison sentence of less than a year, shows some kind of deterrence
• CS are not something people would choose to do, cleaning graffiti etc, people may be deterred because they don’t want to do it again
• women who are released from prison are more likely to reoffend and reoffend sooner than those on a CS.

Question 8

how do Community Sentences not meet the aim of deterrence?

Answer 8

• in 2013, more than 75% of people sent to prison had atleast 1 previous CS, showing its not an effective deterrent
• reoffending rate is 56%, shows its not deterring crime

Question 9

how do Community Sentences meet the aim of public protection?

Answer 9

• offenders are supervised while they do their unpaid work
• offenders may be given a tag, a curfew or a restraining order which protects us as we know they are supposed to be or that they are being monitored

Question 10

how do Community Sentences not meet the aim of public protection?

Answer 10

• public can’t be fully protected as they are not locked inside prisons
• a breach could lead to a prison sentence, this would protect us but requires someone to commit further crime
• the reoffending rate is still 56% which is not protecting the public

Question 11

how do Community Sentences meet the aim of reparation?

Answer 11

• CS can include doing unpaid work to repair the damage they have caused to a victim’s property
• reparation may be to the whole community through unpaid work community payback

Question 12

how do Community Sentences not meet the aim of reparation?

Answer 12

• it could be argued that CS aren’t actually ‘payback’ especially if it isn’t directly victim related

Question 13

how do Community Sentences meet the aim of denunciation?

Answer 13

• being made to carry out unpaid work could be argued as enforcing boundary maintenance , it is a visible thing that society can show their disapproval of

Question 14

how do Community Sentences not meet the aim of denunciation?

Answer 14

• some would argue that these sentences are not severe enough to reinforce boundary maintenance