AC2.3 how forms of punishment meet the aims of punishment

imprisonment

  • custodial sentences - used for the most serious offences & (under the Criminal Justice Act 2003) should only be used where awarding a fine or community sentence could not be justified & when the public must be protected - half of the prisoners in the UK were convicted of sexual or violent offences

~ there are more than 85,000 prisoners in about 160 prisons in the UK

  • types of prison sentences:

  1. mandatory life sentences - a life sentence is mandatory for murder & sometimes are given a ‘whole life tariff’ - offender will never be released from prison, e.g. Wayne Cousins

  2. discretionary life sentences - indeterminate sentence given for serious offences, such as rape & GBH with intent

  3. IPP’s - a set minimum amount of time an offender must serve before being released from prison - up to the parole board to decide if they are still a danger to society or if they can be released

ruled unlawful by European Court of Human Rights in 2012, there were still around 2,600 IPP prisoners in 2018

  1. determinate sentences - a sentence with a fixed length - usually don’t serve the whole sentence in prison

. under 12 months - normally released half way through

. less than 2 years - half in prison & half on licence

  1. suspended sentences - instead of serving time in prison, the offender will be asked to adhere to requirements set by the court, e.g. drug treatment, if they do not follow these or commit any further offences during the suspension period (up to 2 years) the court can send them to prison to serve their original sentence - given to those who’s sentence would have been less than 12 months

does imprisonment meet its punishment aims

  • retribution

~ prison punishes people for their crimes by taking away their freedom & imposing unpleasant living conditions on them

~ it’s difficult to say whether imprisonment gives offenders their ‘just deserts’ - how do we decide exactly what length of sentence fits with the crimes?

~ society disagrees about whether sentences are too long, or too short & about which offenders deserve prison

  • deterrence

~ high reoffending rates from ex-prisoners, suggests that prison is not an efficient deterrent for many

~ half of adult prisoners are re-convicted within a year of being released

~ deterrence only works if offenders can think & act rationally - many offences are committed under the influence of drugs or alcohol - many offenders are poorly educated or have mental health problems - in these circumstances, they may not carefully consider the risk of being sent to prison/the likely sentence

  • public protection

~ protects the public by taking offenders out of circulation, but they can harm themselves, other inmates, or staff

~ whole life sentences - keep offenders permanently off the streets

~ most prisoners are released on licence under supervision - if they become a threat to the public during their licence period, they can be recalled back to prison

~ prisoners serving indeterminate sentences can be kept in prison for as long as they are deemed a danger to the public

~ however, keeping prisoners in prison is costly

  • repatriation

~ under the Prisoners Earnings Act 2011, prisoners who are permitted to work outside of prison to prepare for their eventual release can be made to pay a portion of their earnings towards the cost of the victims support services - forcing prisoners to take responsibility for the harm they have caused

  • rehabilitation

~ 48% of prisoners reoffend within a year of their release

~ short sentences - half of sentences are 6 months or less, meaning there is not enough time to get to grips with long-term problems that cause offending - seen as less effective at reducing reoffending than community sentences

~ education & training - even for prisoners with longer sentences, opportunities to deal with the causes of their offending & prepare them for a crime-free life are often limited

only a quarter of prisoners have a job to go to on release - may lack the education or skills needed

opportunities for education, vocational training, or meaningful work are limited - release on temporary licence can allow prisoners to work out of prison of day release - fewer than 400 a month get this opportunity

~ shortage of places on courses that address offending behaviour (anger management programmes), many prisoners on indeterminate sentences remain in prison due to a lack of programmes that could address their violent behaviour