What Is The Purpose Of Sentencing

Published Date: 02 Nov 2017

Firstly we need to define what sentencing and punishment are. A sentence can only be given once the facts of a case has been heard by the judge in a court and the defendant has been found guilty of the crime that they were accused of doing, therefore meaning that the judge can then decide on what type of sentence can be given. Punishment could follow on from sentencing or it could be given if a sentence if not absolutely necessary. As an example, a punishment following on from a sentencing could be having certain privilege taken away, that the normal prisoner may be entitled to such as the amount of time spent outside. A punishment that does not follow on from a sentence could be paying for a speeding ticket because you have been caught speeding. From this I can derive that a good definition of punishment is to be subjected with a penalty due to an offence or fault that has been committed by one.

The Criminal Justice Act 2003 is what governs sentencing and punishment generally in terms of guidance for the United Kingdom. Sentencing and punishments are to be fair, and equal to the nature of the crime or offence that has been committed by the individual. An example of a sentence that is equal to the offence committed is; destroying/damaging a property with the intent to endanger life, maximum prison term on indictment is ‘life’ (criminal damages Act 1971, s. 4(2)) (Emmins on sentencing, fourth edition, Martin Wasik).

The Criminal Justice Act 2003 s.142 outlines what the purposes of sentencing are, and they are; The punishment of offenders, the reduction of crime (deterrence), the reform and rehabilitation of offenders, the protection of the public, and the making of reparation by offenders to persons affected by their offences. There are different types of sentences that aim to achieve the purposes of sentencing.

Punishing offenders can be seen as getting ‘just deserts’ meaning to get what you deserve. This is done by calculating the seriousness of the crime, and the punishment has to be in proportion to the crime. (sentencing and punishment, Susan Easton and Christine Piper 2008). In the United Kingdom, there is no death penalty, and some would argue that those who commit pre meditated murder must face a death penalty because they conspired and took the life of someone else. This can cause a great deal of upset to the families of the victim because they may feel that justice has not been served. This can lead to questions about the punishment of other offences and crimes; such as how do you know what a fair punishment is if there is no death penalty for pre meditated murder.

Rehabilitation and reform is about reforming the criminal tendencies of offenders, the goal of this is to reduce an offender’s tendency to commit crimes, thus the ‘reformation of a character’. This has been seen as a ‘correctional model’ of rehabilitation since it focuses on the offender and changing the cause of the offending behaviour. (Principled sentencing, edited by Andrew Von Hirsch, Andrew Ashworth and Julian Roberts) Rehabilitation is a practice of prevention, therefore necessary that such techniques should be sustained as long as the methods are operative for the lessening of crime. This can be seen as a form of punishment or a form of medical help, depending on the nature of the crime and is also subjected to the mental/physical state of the offender.

Deterrence is concerned with preventing the commission of future crimes. This theory is used because people will see the prospect of an unpleasant punishment and will put people of the idea of offending. A good example of deterrence is illegal parking; drivers cruise around the city in search of a parking spot consider the probability that if they park illegally their vehicle will attract attention of traffic wardens, as well as the magnitude of any parking fine. (Principled sentencing, edited by Andrew Von Hirsch, Andrew Ashworth and Julian Roberts). One can conclude that Deterrence is a psychological mechanism because the technique of deterrence employs the mechanism of fear into individuals. Deterrence can be seen as evil because it involves harsh punishments, especially to reoffenders and punishment is an evil in itself. This would also undermine the technique of deterrence because each punishment would be calculated to the offender, thus bringing forth inconsistency in the technique just to make an exemplary sentence.

The making of reparation by offenders to persons affected by their offences which is also known as restorative justice. This technique is victim/community aimed ad sets out to make the offender think about what they have done to ensure that they do not offend again (rehabilitation). This technique is applied to minor offences such as minor property damage i.e. graffiti. In such a case the offender may be ordered to community service as a punishment with a set tariff i.e. 40 hours of community service. This also aims for the community/victim to regain trust in the offender.

One of the purposes of sentencing is to protect the public from those who commit crime and cause offences that do no respect the norms and values of the society, in other words, to protect the public from those who break the law. A sentence to protect the public is called Imprisonment for Public Protection, and this can be imposed once the offender meets the criteria set under the Criminal Justice Act 2003 s.225. A scenario where this can come into effect is when a person is convicted of grievous body harm with a weapon, which holds a maximum sentence of life imprisonment. The same person has already been convicted of a similar offence. Therefore the court can have the opinion that the person is of a high risk to public safety, therefore the court can sentence that person to imprisonment for public protection. This can be with or without parole. (http://sentencingcouncil.judiciary.gov.uk/sentencing/indeterminate-prison-sentences.htm Accessed on 10th November 2012)

To conclude, it is clear that sentencing and punishment work hand in hand to create a system that maintains a high standard of crime reduction on crime prevention. This ultimately protects the public’s best interests and can also bring the society closer together. Some sentences that are given out for minor crimes give the offender a chance to bond back into society and also a chance to keep away from crime. Moreover the aims of sentencing have good guidelines which should enable judges to make the right decision on the sentences. There are some debatable forms of sentencing such as ‘life’ which I for one believes that life should in fact mean life, or even the death penalty. The United Kingdom is strict on the human rights law which shows reason as to why there should not be a death penalty, but that is not true justice for the families that have lost loved ones due to pre meditated murder. Sentences are aimed at either helping the victim or the society, but trying to preserve justice at the same time. Heftier rulings are given out to more severe crimes and lighter sentences to crimes that are petty. Having sentences that allow rehabilitation is good for the society for many reason, and one is that it saves the tax payer money; putting someone in prison costs over £40k and a prison place cost £119k (http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2008/jul/28/justice.prisonsandprobation accessed 13th November 2012)