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How punishments meet aims (AC2.3) - Coggle Diagram

- - - - Loss of Freedom/Liberty - Imprisonment restricts the individual's ability to move freely in society and engage in everyday activities. This loss of liberty is considered a form of punishment that is proportionate to the severity of the committed crime e.g. mandatory life sentences for murders
        Suffering and Hardship - Life in prison often involves a range of hardships, such as restricted living conditions, limited personal freedoms, and a lack of privacy. The discomfort and suffering experienced by prisoners is seen as a consequence of their criminal actions, ensuring they get their ‘just deserts’
    - - Education - Prisons often offer educational opportunities, for example ‘Learning Together’ was a prison based education programme where university students were taught alongside prisoners
      - Training programs - Vocational training and work opportunities within the prison environment can help develop practical skills. For example, ‘Virgin Trains Scheme’ which aims to develop their work, employability and communication skills.
      - Wellbeing programs - Prisons also offer a wide range of personal well being support including counselling, therapy, drug treatment programs, anger management etc.
      - Case study - Ryan Herbert:
        Evidence from professionals at HMP Warren Hill indicates that Herbert has significantly improved. Furthermore, a letter from the directors of the Learning Together programme states that Herbert has taken on a mentoring role and is described in the letter as "one of the most reliable, sensitive and conscientious students" on the programme. The decision to reduce his minimum tariff meant that Herbert was eligible to apply for parole in February 2022 and has since been released into the community.
    - - Fear of punishment - The very nature of imprisonment, with its restrictions on freedom and often harsh conditions, serves as a punishment that is intended to deter individuals from engaging in criminal behavior. The prospect of facing the consequences of incarceration is meant to discourage potential offenders by creating a fear of punishment.
      - Recidivism rates - Reoffending rates show that the majority of prisoners (58%) are not reconvicted within 12 months. Therefore, custodial sentences are largely an effective individual deterrent.
      - Case study - London Riots (general deterrent)
        
        There was a 70% rate of imprisonment rate for offenders compared with a ‘normal’ rate of just 2% in magistrates courts (Travis & Rogers, 2011).
        
        One man sentenced to six months in prison for stealing a £3.50 case of water
        
        Two men were sentenced to four years each for using FB to incite a riot that never took place.
        
        Since 2011, there has not been a repeat of the chaos and destruction seen in these riots, leading some to argue that although the sentences were harsh they were in fact effective.
    - - Incapacitation - Prisons are designed to securely confined individuals who pose a threat to public safety due to the severity of their crimes or the potential for harm. By removing dangerous offenders from the community, prisons aim to prevent them from causing further harm.
      - Whole-Life Tariffs - There are currently 67 people under a whole-life tariff in prison and a further four in secure hospitals (71 total), who will never be released from custody. The list of offenders includes Lucy Letby, Rose West, Wayne Couzens and many more.
      - Zimring et al. (1994) - found that each ‘person year’ (putting a person in prison for one year) prevented approximately 3.5 crimes per year. (85,851 prisoners in June 2023 = 300,478.5 crimes prevented that year.)
    - - Prisons’ Earnings Act 2011 - Under this act, prisoners who are permitted to work outside of prison to prepare for their eventual release can be made to pay a proportion of their earnings towards the cost of Victim Support Services to help repay some of their ‘debt to society’.
    - - Public visibility - The visibility of prison sentences, especially for high-profile cases, reinforces the public's awareness of the consequences associated with criminal behavior. This visibility contributes to the denunciation of specific crimes e.g. murder and helps to achieve Boundary Maintenance by showing which behaviour is unacceptable. (This links to Functionalism)
  - - - Custodial sentences are not always proportionate to the severity of the crime, sometimes they can be unduly harsh or unduly lenient. Disproportionate sentences fail to achieve retribution as the offender is either getting more or less than they deserve.
        
        unduly harsh:
        Cases such as the London Riots 2011 (6 months for stealing £3.50 bottle of water)
        In 2020, 44% of custodial sentences were for 6 months or less, showing that they are being overused for petty offences.
        
        unduly lenient:
        Cases such as Lavinia Woodward, Graham Ovenden, Stuart Hall, Ian Patterson
        In 2021 106 offenders had their custodial sentences increased because the court agreed they were too low, demonstrating that sometimes sentences are too lenient.
    - - Low quality education - In 2020, Ofsted reported that nearly two-thirds of inspections showed poor management of the quality of education, skills and work. Only 9 institutions inspected (out of 32) were judged to be good or outstanding.
      - University of crime - Prisons are seen as “universities of crime” where prisoners acquire new criminal skills and contacts that means when released they can commit more serious offences. This goes against the key principles of rehabilitation.
      - Recidivism rates - The average reoffending rate of prisoners is 42% within 12 months of their release (this increases to 63% for those who serve short sentences). This demonstrates that prisons are not effectively rehabilitating prisoners.
      - Case study - Usman Khan
        
        Usman Khan, a convicted terrorist, was lawfully killed on London Bridge in 2019 by armed police after stabbing two people at a prisoner rehabilitation event hosted by Learning Together, a prisoner education initiative run by Cambridge University.
    - - Prison population - The prison population has risen by 80% in the last 30 years—and it is currently projected to rise by a further 7,400 people by 2024. Prisons are therefore not an effective general deterrence.
      - Recidivism rates - The average reoffending rate of prisoners is 42% within 12 months of their release (this increases to 63% for those who serve short sentences). This level of reoffending shows that imprisonment is not an effective individual deterrent.
      - Unduly lenient sentences - Lenient sentences, such as the suspended sentence given to Lavinia Woodward, reduce the deterrent effects of prison as there is a chance you could ‘get off lightly’.
      - Case study - Andrew Dawson
        
        In July 2010, John David Matthews, 66, was found dead in his flat in Derby, England. Five days later, his neighbour, Paul Hancock, 58, was also found dead. They had both been stabbed. Matthews 18 times, and Hancock 22 times.
        Andrew Dawson, 48, admitted to murdering the two men just weeks after moving into the same building. Andrew Dawson was on licence at the time, having previously been given a life sentence in 1982 after killing a 91-year-old man in Lancashire. Andrew Dawson described himself as an ‘Angel of Mercy’. In 2011 he was jailed again and given a Whole Life Tariff.
    - - Short term protection - The vast majority of custodial sentences are determinate and short-term. In fact in 2023, the average custodial sentence is only 20.3 months! This demonstrates that public are only being provided with short-term protection.
      - Average ‘life’ sentence - Mandatory life sentences for murders also do not offer full public protection. On average, these offenders will serve 16.5 years in prison before being released to the community. They are monitored by the probation service, but reoffending can occur and the public can be harmed again.
      - Case study - Andrew Dawson
    - - Unduly Lenient Sentences - Not all prisoners serve their full sentences and therefore they do not repay their ‘debt to society’. For example, Stuart Hall was sentenced to 5 years after pleading guilty to two counts of indecently assaulting a teenage girl. However, he only served half of this sentence before his release.
    - - Inconsistency in Sentencing - Inconsistent or unequal sentencing for similar crimes can undermine the denunciation of criminal behavior. If sentences widely differ based on factors such as race or social class (e.g. Lavinia Woodward), the public may view the system as unfair and less effective in denouncing wrongdoing.