WJEC Criminology Unit 2: Management of Offenders and Social Control

Practice vocabulary flashcards for WJEC Criminology Unit 2, covering the aims of punishment, forms of punishment, and agencies of social control.

Punishment

A penalty imposed by the courts on an offender after conviction, intended to achieve one or more aims.

Key Point of Punishment

• Most punishments serve several aims at the same time.

Retribution

An aim of punishment based on the idea that an offender deserves to suffer proportionately for their crime, often referred to as "just deserts."

Individual Deterrence

A type of deterrence aimed at stopping a specific offender from reoffending through fear of punishment.

General Deterrence

A type of deterrence aimed at discouraging the wider public from offending by demonstrating the consequences of crime.

Rehabilitation

The process of changing an offender's behaviour to address the causes of offending, such as through drug treatment, anger management, or education.

Incapacitation

Protecting society by removing offenders or preventing them from committing further crime, through methods like prison or electronic tagging.

Reparation

The aim of making amends for harm caused to victims or communities, involving methods like compensation orders or restorative justice.

Denunciation

An aim of punishment that expresses society's disapproval of a crime and reinforces social values and the difference between right and wrong.

Custodial Sentences

Sentences involving imprisonment which are highly effective for incapacitation but often show high reoffending rates, suggesting limited success in rehabilitation.

Community Sentences

Punishments such as unpaid work, curfews, or community service that allow offenders to remain in society while focusing on rehabilitation and reparation.

Probation

A supervision-based punishment in the community designed to address the causes of crime, considered one of the strongest methods for rehabilitation.

Restorative Justice

A process where the offender meets the victim to discuss the harm caused, strongly meeting the aim of reparation.

Social Control

The methods used by society to encourage people to follow norms, values, and laws to maintain order and prevent crime.

Formal Social Control

Regulation carried out by official organisations such as the Police, Courts, and Prisons.

Informal Social Control

Regulation carried out by everyday social institutions including the Family, School, Peer Groups, and Religion.

Primary Socialisation

The role of the family as the first agent of socialisation, teaching values, norms, and the development of a conscience.

Labelling Theory

A concept related to education limitations suggesting that students may adopt deviant identities if they are negatively labelled by the school system.

Police Service

The main agency of formal social control responsible for enforcing criminal law, investigating offences, and protecting the public.

HM Prison and Probation Service

The entity responsible for punishing offenders through deprivation of liberty and supervising those serving sentences in the community.

Youth Justice Board

The entity within the Youth Justice System focused on early intervention, prevention of youth offending, and rehabilitation of young offenders.