Crime Punishment

What is crime punishment?

The main objectives of crime punishment are to punish and rehabilitate offenders, protect society and reduce crime.

Crime punishment is based on the rules of operant conditioning, which proposes that people will repeat rewarded behaviours and cease to engage in punished acts. Therefore, sentencing reinforces prosocial behaviours and prevents anti-social behaviours.

Types of crime

There are two types of punishment::

• Positive punishment occurs when a negative outcome follows offending.

• Negative punishment occurs when the consequence of offending involves taking away a positive outcome.

Over the years, crime punishment, just like many other aspects of our society, has evolved. Many years ago, the primary crime punishment used was capital punishment. People were being hanged left, right and centre for criminal acts such as theft, adultery or treason.

Capital punishment was abolished in 1988, and since then, less severe punishments are used, such as custodial sentences (prison), community services, etc., to reform rather than remove the individuals from society.

Crime punishment practices

Currently, the crime punishment practices allowed in the UK justice system involve prison sentences, fines, and restorative justice.

Prison

Prison is an example of positive punishment. Prison, also known as custodial sentencing, is an aversive outcome of committing criminal/ anti-social behaviour. During this, the individual is incarcerated for a period in which their privilege and freedom are taken away. Offenders that serve prison time are separated from society as a punishment for the crime they committed, but also to protect the community.

Prison can deter an individual who has already committed a crime from re-offending, but it can also prevent other members of society from committing similar crimes.

Fines

Fines are also an example of positive punishment, making up for approximately 78% of total sentences in the UK. Fines differ based on the severity of the crime as well as the earnings of the individual. There is no upper limit for the fines that can be ordered for high-profile crimes.

Fines act as a punishment for the person who committed a crime and as a deterrent for others. Fine penalties can also be used to compensate the victim of a crime. The awareness of the potential fines deters people from committing minor offences like breaking the traffic laws.

Community sentencing

Community sentencing involves ordering offenders to undertake a form of punishment or rehabilitation within a community. While community sentences don't keep offenders away from the community, they provide them with an opportunity to make amends through community service. And also to work on the problem that led to them offending (e.g. substance use or mental illness).

Community sentencing is considered an appropriate punishment for minor offences and gives offenders a better chance at rehabilitation than prison sentences.

Community sentences can include:

• Community service, e.g. picking litter or working in a volunteer centre

• Abiding curfews and specific restrictions

• Taking part in offender rehabilitation programmes

• Undergoing substance use treatment

Restorative justice

Restorative justice does not only focus on punishing an offender but also on helping make amends and support victims and the community as a whole.

In the case of theft or fraud, the offender might be ordered to pay restitution to cover the material or financial losses suffered by the victim.

Minor offences might also be punishable with court-ordered community service, which involves unpaid work for up to 300 hours. Community service can include completing tasks like landscaping, painting over graffiti, and volunteering with charities or homelessness organisations. It not only acts as a punishment but also actively supports prosocial behaviour and can be helpful for the offender's rehabilitation and helping them fit back into society.

Community services serve as punishment for minor crimes to promote prosocial behaviour and discourage anti-social behaviour, freepik.com.

Another form of restorative justice is victim-offender reconciliation, which involves a discussion between the victim and the offender about the crime that occurred, which a mediator moderates to ensure the safety of the process. It allows the offender to see the impact of their behaviour on the victim, take responsibility for it and make amends. However, the most significant advantage of this process is that it can help the victims move on, gain closure and have their questions answered.

Crime punishment and justice

What do we mean by justice? Justice can be understood as administering lawful and reasonable sanctions for the offender's criminal behaviour. Since criminal behaviour is considered harmful to society, justice involves punishing those who offend. The scale of punishment should be appropriate to the crime committed, discourage others from offending, and be satisfactory to the victim.

The lawful and reasonable punishment for a particular crime can differ depending on the region and time.

Types of crimes and their punishment

The punishment needs to be appropriate to the severity of the crime committed. Minor crimes like careless driving or assault, where no major harm is caused to the victim, can be punished with community service. The court may also order the offender to undergo treatment for substance use or mental health issues if it's relevant to the crime committed.

Offences which involve damaging property, theft, drug possession, drunk driving or even assault can be punished with either fines alone or fines combined with a prison sentence.

Prison sentences are usually ordered for high-profile crimes that harm the victim or put the safety of others at risk; these include murder, death threats, assault, violence, rape, arson, robbery, and possession of weapons or drugs.

Justice involves administering appropriate punishment for criminal offences, freepik.com.

Crime punishment effectiveness

Reduction of crime is one of the key objectives of crime punishment. We can measure how effective sentencing is at fulfilling this objective by looking at recidivism rates.

Effective punishment should prevent re-offences and result in reduced rates of recidivism. We can also look at the changes in crime rates to evaluate how effective types of punishment deter criminal behaviour in society.

Crime punishment facts

Crime statistics

• In 2021, 5.8 million crimes were recorded by the police in England and Wales.⁶

• Self-report surveys suggest that this figure is much larger, as many offences remain unreported.

Current recidivism statistics

• In the UK, 24.1% of adult offenders re-offend despite punishment ¹

• The rate of re-offending is even higher among juvenile offenders, 34.1% of which reoffends.¹

• The re-offending rates are the highest for short sentences; 66% of offenders re-offend after serving a 6-month prison sentence.⁴

Statistics on crime punishment

• Community orders have a much lower re-offending rate (30%) than short prison sentences (48%).⁴

• The cost of re-offending is high; on average, £16.7 billion is spent on recidivism. ⁴

• Community order costs us nine times less than a prison place.⁴

These crime facts show that the UK judicial system is effective but still in need of some improvements.