A level Law: Criminal Process: Theories and Objectives of Sentencing

Criminal Justice Act 2003 s142

Any court dealing with an (adult) offender in respect of his offence must have regard to the following purposes of sentencing:

Punishment of Offenders:

The offender has obviously broken the criminal law and must be punished
The criminal law takes revenge against the offender on behalf of both the victim(s) and society (retribution)
The main issue is that the punishment must be proportionate to the crime - the 'just deserts' theory
One of the earliest forms if retribution was based on the Biblical principal 'an eye for an eye'
This is the basis of the argument for retaining the death penalty
In America, one judge has given burglary victims the right to go to the home of the burglar and take items to the same value of what was stolen from them
Tariff Sentences:

For many sentences, the tariffs are fixed in order to provide consistent sentencing
In America some states have fixed tariffs for each crime. This doesn't allow the judge to have any discretion and may lead to injustice as the judge cannot consider mitigating factors or circumstances of the individual offender
Fines are a particular area of concern. A £1000 fine to someone on a very low income is extremely punitive but to a high earner it may have very little, if any, effect

The Reduction of Crime (including its reduction by deterrence)

The main problem with deterrence is effectiveness. Its effectiveness is calculated by an individual based on the chances of getting caught
Deterrence is designed to have two effects:

To stop this particular offender committing any further crime - INDIVIDUAL DETERRENCE
To prevent others committing the same crime - GENERAL DETERRENCE

The deterrent effect of punishments is weakened depending on how many times the offender is punished in a particular way
Various policies have been tried by successive governments, but very few have any significant impact on reoffending rates
Sometimes the courts impose exemplary sentences to try and increase the deterrent effect. For example, Lord Ahmed (a labour peer) was sentenced to 12 weeks in prison for using his phone whilst driving

Reform and Rehabilitation

"The aim of rehabilitation is to reform offenders, so that they are less likely to commit offences in the future - either because they learn to see the harm they are causing, or because, through education, training and other help, they find other ways to make a living or spend their leisure time" - English Legal System, C Elliot & F Quinn, 2008
Many rehabilitation programmes that have been used in prisons over the years have had very little success
Prisoners are required to undertake a variety of programmes whilst in prison to address their offending behaviour. Longer term prisoners may not be released early until they have completed such programmes
The problem arises once they are released and have no job or prospects and no money
The Court can give sentences that incorporate some form of rehabilitation, e.g a drug testing and treatment order
The problem here is that it could lead to inconsistent sentencing. An offender who is seen as likely to reform could be given a treatment order, whilst another offender may simply be sent to prison

Protection of the Public

Public protection is usually provided through incarceration
This is an extremely expensive way of dealing with offenders, currently costing around £37k per year per prisoner
Other means of protection include curfews, electronic tagging, exclusion orders and driving bans

Reparation

This is known as 'restorative justice'
It is all about the offender trying to repair some of the damage done to the victim and society
It allows for the victim to come face to face with the offender and explain the effect of their offence, whilst also having a say in what the offender will do to put things right
This has had some success, particularly with young offenders where it is mostly used
However, it really depends on the crime:

e.g an offender can paint a wall he's graffitied or mend a park bench he's destroyed. He can also write a letter of apology to the victime

Obviously this method would never work in the case of murder or rape so in that way it is limited

Denunciation

This is a further aim of sentencing but not included in the Criminal Justice Act 2003 - the sentence given allows society to show its disapproval of the offender's criminal behaviour
It provides moral boundaries within society and can shape the views of the general public

e.g campaigns against drink driving and its effects have changed society's view and now drinking and driving is significantly frowned upon and severe sentences are given to those who do drink and drive

A level Law