AC2.2 - discuss the aims of punishment

Question 1

aims and sentencing

Answer 1

• to punish offenders
• to reduce crime
• to rehabilitate offenders
• to protect the public
• to repatriate victims when needed

Question 2

retribution ( punishment)

Answer 2

• based o the idea an offender needs to be punished
• does not seek to alter future behaviour of the offender, only to inflict a punishment for the crime.
• aims to provide an adequate levels of justice to the victims of the offenders’ crimes.
• contains an element of revenge, whereby the victims and society are avenged fro the wrong done by the individual.

Question 3

deterrence

Answer 3

• aim of individual deterrence is to ensure an offender does not reoffend.
• a suspended sentence is an example of individual deterrence as imprisonment will occur if further crimes are committed. this is hoped to prevent future offending.
• however, recidivism rate would not suggest that many prisoners are not deterred from committing crimes as reoffending rate is nearly 50% within a year of release.
• aim of general deterrence is to prevent potential offenders from committing a crime. however, often the impact o a sentence with a deterrent element is weakened by it relating to someone else.

Question 4

rehabilitation

Answer 4

• aim is to reform offenders and reintroduce them to society.
• presumes criminal behaviour is due to free will & choice
• believe criminals can change their behaviour
• rehabilitation can be seen in community sentences & probation orders.

Question 5

public protection

Answer 5

• punishment must serve the purpose of protecting society from dangerous criminals
• through incapacitation, on offender is prevented from having their freedom.
• examples of punishments. an include long prison sentences and electronic tagging which aim to punish individuals and protect the public from serious criminals.

Question 6

Repatriation

Answer 6

• often involves compensation the victim of crime by ordering the offender to pay a sum of money to the victim.
• also aims to ensure offenders ‘payback’ and repatriate society by completing unpaid community work.
• restorative justice schemes also created whereby offenders and victim meet. offenders can make direct repatriation through writing letters of apology, repairing any damage caused and explaining the event/reasons for the crime face to face.