1.5 The Purposes of Punishment – Criminal Law (2024)

Learning Objective

  1. Ascertain the effects of specific and general deterrence, incapacitation, rehabilitation, retribution, and restitution.

Punishment has five recognized purposes: deterrence, incapacitation, rehabilitation, retribution, and restitution.

Specific and General Deterrence

Deterrence prevents future crime by frightening the defendant or the public. The two types of deterrence are specific and general deterrence. Specific deterrence applies to an individual defendant. When the government punishes an individual defendant, he or she is theoretically less likely to commit another crime because of fear of another similar or worse punishment. General deterrence applies to the public at large. When the public learns of an individual defendant’s punishment, the public is theoretically less likely to commit a crime because of fear of the punishment the defendant experienced. When the public learns, for example, that an individual defendant was severely punished by a sentence of life in prison or the death penalty, this knowledge can inspire a deep fear of criminal prosecution.

Incapacitation

Incapacitation prevents future crime by removing the defendant from society. Examples of incapacitation are incarceration, house arrest, or execution pursuant to the death penalty.

Rehabilitation

Rehabilitation prevents future crime by altering a defendant’s behavior. Examples of rehabilitation include educational and vocational programs, treatment center placement, and counseling. The court can combine rehabilitation with incarceration or with probation or parole. In some states, for example, nonviolent drug offenders must participate in rehabilitation in combination with probation, rather than submitting to incarceration (Ariz. Rev. Stat., 2010). This lightens the load of jails and prisons while lowering recidivism, which means reoffending.

Retribution

Retribution prevents future crime by removing the desire for personal avengement (in the form of assault, battery, and criminal homicide, for example) against the defendant. When victims or society discover that the defendant has been adequately punished for a crime, they achieve a certain satisfaction that our criminal procedure is working effectively, which enhances faith in law enforcement and our government.

Restitution

Restitution prevents future crime by punishing the defendant financially. Restitution is when the court orders the criminal defendant to pay the victim for any harm and resembles a civil litigation damages award. Restitution can be for physical injuries, loss of property or money, and rarely, emotional distress. It can also be a fine that covers some of the costs of the criminal prosecution and punishment.

Figure 1.4 Different Punishments and Their Purpose

1.5 The Purposes of Punishment – Criminal Law (1)

Key Takeaways

  • Specific deterrence prevents crime by frightening an individual defendant with punishment. General deterrence prevents crime by frightening the public with the punishment of an individual defendant.
  • Incapacitation prevents crime by removing a defendant from society.
  • Rehabilitation prevents crime by altering a defendant’s behavior.
  • Retribution prevents crime by giving victims or society a feeling of avengement.
  • Restitution prevents crime by punishing the defendant financially.

Exercises

Answer the following questions. Check your answers using the answer key at the end of the chapter.

  1. What is one difference between criminal victims’ restitution and civil damages?
  2. Read Campbell v. State, 5 S.W.3d 693 (1999). Why did the defendant in this case claim that the restitution award was too high? Did the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals agree with the defendant’s claim? The case is available at this link: http://scholar.google.com/scholar_case?case=11316909200521760089&hl=en&as_sdt=2&as_vis=1&oi=scholarr.

References

Ariz. Rev. Stat. §13-901.01, accessed February 15, 2010, http://law.justia.com/arizona/codes/title13/00901-01.html.

1.5 The Purposes of Punishment – Criminal Law (2024)

FAQs

What is the purpose of punishment for a crime? ›

There are five main underlying justifications of criminal punishment considered briefly here: retribution; incapacitation; deterrence; rehabilitation and reparation.

What are the 6 purposes of punishment? ›

A lesson to explore the six aims of punishment: protection, retribution, vindication, deterrence, reformation and reparation. It includes discussions on what crimes should receive what punishment, learning walks and written exercises which increase in difficulty.

What are two purposes of punishment? ›

Two main justifications exist for punishment: Crime reduction and retribution.

What is the aim of punishment? ›

There are five main underlying theoretical justifications of criminal punishment which form the basis of sentencing decisions across jurisdictions: retribution; incapacitation; deterrence; rehabilitation; and, reparation.

What are the 5 purposes of punishment? ›

Those who study types of crimes and their punishments learn that five major types of criminal punishment have emerged: incapacitation, deterrence, retribution, rehabilitation and restoration.

What are the four purpose of punishment? ›

Incapacitation prevents crime by removing a defendant from society. Rehabilitation prevents crime by altering a defendant's behavior. Retribution prevents crime by giving victims or society a feeling of avengement. Restitution prevents crime by punishing the defendant financially.

What are the 3 main purposes of criminal law? ›

Criminal law refers to a body of laws that apply to criminal acts. The main theories for criminal law include: to deter crime, to reform the perpetrator, to provide retribution for the act, and to prevent further crimes.

What are the 4 theories of punishment? ›

There are majorly four theories of punishment. These theories are the deterrent theory, retributive theory, preventive theory, and reformative theory.

What are the six types of punishment in criminal justice? ›

There are several main types of criminal punishment: deterrence, reduction, rehabilitation, incapacitation, retribution and restoration.

What is the purpose of punishment essay? ›

The aim of punishment is also to warn people from crime committing under the fear of being punished and it might be reached through the well-developed criminal justice system, one of the main aim of which is to ensure that every wrongdoer will be punished for the criminal acts. There are two kinds of deterrence.

What is the purpose of punishment for a crime quizlet? ›

crime control through incarceration, isolating them from society. Deterrence is preventing or controlling behavior or actions through fear of punishment or retribution. General focuses on the general public. Specific focuses on individuals.

What is the purpose of punishment for wrongdoers? ›

Justifications for punishment include retribution, deterrence, rehabilitation, and incapacitation. The last could include such measures as isolation, in order to prevent the wrongdoer's having contact with potential victims, or the removal of a hand in order to make theft more difficult.

What are the five major types of criminal punishment? ›

Types of Punishment
  • Incarceration. Incarceration means time in a local jail or a state or federal prison. ...
  • Fines. Many criminal punishments carry fines, which is money paid to the government (often a city, county, or state).
  • Diversion. ...
  • Probation. ...
  • Restitution. ...
  • Community service. ...
  • Defendant 1. ...
  • Defendant 2.
24 Jun 2022

What are the 5 main goals of the criminal justice system? ›

There are five key purposes of criminal law:
  • Retribution.
  • Deterrence.
  • Incapacitation (Incarceration)
  • Rehabilitation.
  • Restoration.
4 Mar 2021

What is common purpose criminal law? ›

The doctrine of common purpose is defined as an agreement to commit a crime or active association in a joint unlawful enterprise by two or more persons, where each person is responsible for the criminal conduct of the other if it falls within their common design.

What is the purpose of criminal law simple definition? ›

What is criminal law? The criminal law sets out the definitions of criminal offences and the rules and procedures that apply when: the police investigate an offence they allege you have committed. the prosecuting authorities charge you, and. you must appear in a criminal court.

What are the 4 specific purposes of the criminal justice system? ›

Modern goals of the criminal justice system include preventing crime, protecting the public, supporting victims of crimes, holding perpetrators responsible for crimes committed, and helping offenders return to society as law-abiding citizens.

What is punishment and its types? ›

punishment, the infliction of some kind of pain or loss upon a person for a misdeed (i.e., the transgression of a law or command). Punishment may take forms ranging from capital punishment, flogging, forced labour, and mutilation of the body to imprisonment and fines.

How many types of punishments are there? ›

Ans. The five punishments given to criminals in India are death penalty, life imprisonment, imprisonment, forfeiture of property, and solitary confinement. Ans. Imprisonment comes under sections 194 and 449 of the INDIAN PENAL CODE.

What are the three characteristics of punishment? ›

Below are several characteristics of effective punishment.
  • The punishment involves a really aversive consequence (i.e., not associated with any reinforcer).
  • The punishment is applied immediately after the target behavior.
  • The punishment is followed by an explanation of why the punishment occurs.

What is the most common form of criminal punishment? ›

Probation is the most common form of criminal sentencing in the United States.

Is punishment effective for criminals? ›

Studies show that for most individuals convicted of a crime, short to moderate prison sentences may be a deterrent but longer prison terms produce only a limited deterrent effect. In addition, the crime prevention benefit falls far short of the social and economic costs.

What is the purpose of punishment in positivist criminology? ›

Definition of Positivist Criminology

Utilitarianism is a theory that one is motivated by pleasure and the fear of pain, so punishments can be used as a deterrent to commit crimes.

What is the purpose or function of punishment according to Durkheim? ›

Durkheim suggested that the function of punishment was not to remove crime from society altogether, because society 'needed' crime. The point of punishment was to control crime and to maintain the collective sentiments.

What is the purpose of punishment psychology? ›

A behavior may be dependent on a stimulus or dependent on a response. The purpose of punishment is to reduce a behavior, and the degree to which punishment is effective in reducing a targeted behavior is dependent on the relationship between the behavior and a punishment.

Which goal of punishment is most important? ›

The punishment can not be more then what the law calls for. The main goal is to try and deterrence crime, reform and rehabilitation of offenders and to make reparation to the persons that crime affected.

What are the benefits of punishment? ›

Experiments have shown that punishment enhances socially beneficial cooperation but that the costs of punishment outweigh the gains from cooperation. This challenges evolutionary models of altruistic cooperation and punishment, which predict that punishment will be beneficial.

What is the main purpose of punishment under the classical perspective? ›

The classical school of thought was premised on the idea that people have free will in making decisions, and that punishment can be a deterrent for crime, so long as the punishment is proportional, fits the crime, and is carried out promptly.

What is punishment and its effects? ›

A punishment in psychology is a consequence which reduces or aims to reduce the likelihood of a targeted and undesirable behavior from happening again. Punishment is a part of operant conditioning, or the use of rewards to encourage certain behaviors and use of negative consequences to discourage unwanted behaviors.

What is the effect of punishment? ›

Physical punishment can lead to children being more aggressive and anti-social as well as more likely to be susceptible to mental illness. Physical punishment teaches children that physical aggression is okay. It does not help them develop positive, effective coping skills to manage negative emotions and situations.

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