Concurrent vs consecutive sentence- if someone is convicted of more than one crime,, given sentence for each crime; served one after the other;

Life sentence- judge specifies min term offender must spend in prison before becoming eligible to apply for parole; one exception is when judge passes whole life order- offender must spend the rest of their life in prison

Indeterminate sentence- doesn't have fixed length of time-> no date is set for person to be release, so have to spend min amount of time in prison before considered for release

Suspended sentence- offender given custodial sentence between 14 days and 2 years, judge/ magistrate can choose to suspend sentence for up to 2 years-> offender doesn't go prison immediately but given chance to stay out of trouble and comply with requirements set by court

Determinate/ fixed length sentence- court sets fixed length sentence, offender receives max time to spend in custody but not necessarily spend it all in prison

Public protection- offenders out of circulation;

IPPs and whole life sentences arguably protect the public. There has been a trend towards longer sentences, meaning the public are protected for longer – e.g. 3 strikes and you’re out. Prisoners are released on licence and under supervision. If they are deemed a threat to the public, they can be recalled to prison. BUT prison can act as a university of crime, and prisoners may be released more dangerous and more likely to commit crime than before their sentence.

Reparation- prisoners pay victim from money earn in prison under Prison Earning Act 2011;

Under the Prisoners Earnings Act 2011, prisoners who are permitted to work outside during their sentence may be liable to pay a proportion of their earnings towards the cost of victims support services. This is rare in practice, as offenders are not often given the opportunity to earn money in this way. However the CPS also tries to ensure that it confiscates proceeds of crime.​

Deterrence- reoffending relies on offender rationally weighting it up, might not be able to;

High re-offending rates suggest prison doesn’t act as deterrent. Criminals don’t believe they’re going to be caught even if they have been previously. Deterrence relies on a rational choice being made before committing a crime, but many offences happen under the influence of alcohol or drugs. Offenders may be poorly educated or have mental health issues, in which case they are not unduly concerned about the prospect of a prison sentence.

Rehabilitation- short sentences, education/ training, address offender behaviour;

Prisons have poor record of reducing re-offending, 48% prisoners reoffend within 1yr of release. Sentences less than 12 months, figure rises to 64%. 5616 prisoners recalled for breaching license conditions in 2018 –>rehabilitation has limited success. Shorter sentences, inadequate opportunities for education and training and programs that actually address the cause of the offender behaviour – e.g. AMP programs.

Retribution- take away freedom, what sentence is right to give;

Prison punishes people by taking away freedom (often imposes unpleasant living conditions). Unclear if prison gives offenders their just desserts. Societies disagrees on the lengths of sentences – e.g. For example, in 2006, being convicted of robbery landed suspects in jail for an average of 16 months in Finland, but 72 months in Australia. Assault? Fifteen months in England and Wales, 60 months in the US.

Public protection- no incapacitation but if break it can lead to prison;

Offenders are not incapacitated in the sense that they are not locked up. However, curfews and exclusions can restrict movement and breach of conditions can lead to the offender being sent back to prison.

Rehabilitation- treatment/ training can run alongside community services, 34% reoffend compared to 50-75% for prison;

Research shown that after a community sentence, only 34% of offenders committed a further crime, in comparison to 64% of those with a custodial sentence of less than 12 months. They are particularly useful for people who have multiple previous convictions. They aim to tackle some of the underlying reasons for offending – e.g. unemployment, lack of education, drugs misuse, mental health problems etc. Programs are in place to address some of these needs. BUT in 2013, the BBC reported that more than ¾ of people sent to prison the previous year had at least one previous community sentence, suggesting they aren’t as effective as they might be. The use of community sentences halved in the last decade.

Reparation- unpaid work repair damage for victim/ community;
Doing unpaid work is a way of paying back the community or individual.

Deterrence- can act as deterrent shown by reoffending rates;
These sentences should act as a deterrent if the requirements are stringent enough.​

Retribution- element of punishment;

Community orders that restrict the movements and activities of offenders offer a form of retribution. Likewise doing unpaid work whilst wearing a high vis jacket with ‘Community Payback’ on the back is type of ‘naming and shaming’ which is a form of retribution.

Size of fine dependent on offence, circumstance, ability to pay; failure to pay leads to prison/ property seized

Retribution- acts as punishment they suffer from loss of money;

This is one of the main purposes of fines. An individual can be sent to prison for deliberately not paying a fine. But fines are often written off or not collected, showing that retribution is not achieved. However, making them pay money is a good way of making them suffer.

Deterrence- individual, general;

This is one of the main purposes of fines, but the fact they are often not collected or are written off suggests that they may not act as a deterrent. The threat of prison for unpaid fines appears not to be a particular deterrent. Fines are often used for first offenders. They are a signal that worse will happen if they reoffend.

Deterrence- Deterrence is the primary aim of discharges. They are warning to the individual about his/her future conduct – particularly in the case of conditional discharges which act as individual deterrent. There is normally a low rate of reoffending following a discharge, especially if it’s a first offence, where having to go to court is enough for them to mend their ways. In this regard, they appear to meet their punishment aim. However if offenders are impervious to the system and unconcerned by the court experience, this pu

Reparation- The requirement for an offender to pay court fees is the only form of reparation. ​

Retribution- In the instance of an absolute discharge there are no forms of retribution. When looking at conditional discharges, retribution can only come into effect if the offender decides to commit another crime.

long sentences including life sentences achieve the aim of protecting society;
anyone who has sentence less than 2 years released on license has to conform to bail conditions+ supervision, helping aim of rehabilitation to be achieved to stop reoffending

has been an increase in number of people recalled to custody, nearly by 1000 people;
high rates of reoffending+ high numbers of being recalled to prison show that prisons don't rehabilitate individuals

in 2013, more than 3/4 of those sent to prison previous year and had already one community sentence; suggests community sentences don't meet aim of rehabilitation fully+ doesn't always act as deterrent to not commit further crimes

nearly 9% more effective at reducing 1yr reoffending rates compared to imprisonment; combines aims of punishment + reparation with individuals being punished by working unpaid and also paying back to society

main purpose is to provide deterrence+ punishment for offender, financial punishment given through payment of fine;
fines can escalate if not paid- possible prison time for non payment of fines

many fines are written off (61%) if offender can't be traced/ there is no realistic chance of collection; due to figures, fines are not effective to achieve retribution/ deterrence, threat of prison for failing to pay doesn't have impact

either conditional- used frequently for 1st time offences (minor), aiming to stop reoffending+ deterrence by having the cavate if reoffend= more severe punishment/ absolute- rare, no penalty is imposed, lowest level of punishment- court believes process should experience being arrested, court etc.= deterrent enough to ensure no further crimes committed