Discuss aims of punishment

5 aims of punishment according to The Criminal Justice Act 2003?

1. Retribution

2. Rehabilitation

3. Deterrence: individual and general

4. Public protection

5. Reparation

How was retribution historically used for in comparison to today?

Historically:

• The death penalty was used for lots of crimes

• Applying proportionality meant that different forms of putting people to death had to be thought up to reflect the seriousness of the crime

Today:

• The sentencing council in the UK helps with proportionality by giving guidelines to courts on appropriate sentences

• Retribution justice can be seen as mandatory life sentence for murder

Which theorist may support retribution as an aim of sentencing?

Right realism:

• This is linked to rational choice theory and sees people as rational actors who consciously choose to commit crime

• They are therefore fully responsible for their actions

• It is fitting that they are therefore punished to suffer the outrage of society for their choices

Functionalist:

• Durkheim would say that retribution allows the expression of the moral outrage of society

• It allows a release of the anger and hurt suffered

• This helps to reinforce social norms and expectations of the groups and punish deviance

Which theories may support rehabilitation?

Eysenck’s personality theory:

This would support use of behaviour modification techniques such as aversion therapy

Skinner’s operant conditioning

This would support the idea that behaviour can be modified and changed particularly if the person can see rewards at the end of it. E.g. token systems

Left realists:

• Those who were inadequately socialised from young another chance to adapt to shared societal norms and values.

What theories may support deterrence?

Right realism: rational choice theory regards people as actors who assess the costs and benefits of behaviour before deciding to break the law or not. Severe punishments could therefore deter the offender

Operant conditioning: punishment can act as an individual deterrent

Social learning theory: punishments can act as a general deterrent

What is public protection and which theory’s may support it?

This is otherwise known as incapacitation - making it impossible for criminal to offend again such as execution, cutting off hands, chemical castration etc..

Theories to support public protection:

Biological theories: If it can be shown criminals are born that way and it is not possible to rehabilitate or change them e.g. Lombroso argued for sending criminals far away to remote islands to keep them away from the public.

Right realism: A small number of persistent offenders are responsible for the majority of crime so is suspectable to incapacitate the small few for longer sentences to save the majority.

What is reparation and which theories may support it?

This approach to punishment is to allow the person to make amends. It can be tailored to the particular crime committed.

Left realism: Aids mutual understanding and can be a practical step towards a more caring and equal society

Labelling theory: Can reintegrate people back into mainstream society.

Allows them to express their remorse and helps prevent the slide into secondary deviance

Functionalism: Durkheim favoured this kind of approach to be able to put things back into a harmonious state for the smooth running of society