“Criminal Justice System”
Training Session 21 Nov 2014
Purpose of CJS
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Punishment
Protection
Deterrence
Rehabilitation
Which ones are more important/ Should be
prioritised?
Punishment (retribution)
• Criminals ought to suffer in some way
• This is due to them taking improper advantage or
inflicted unfair detriment on another individual.
• ‘An eye for an eye’ – but probably not – more
restoring a moral balance or a power balance.
• Breaking the social contract – and is the
symbolism of society’s recognition that you have
broken their law.
Problems with punishment
(retribution)
• ‘Two wrongs don’t make a right’.
• Is wholly backward-looking, doesn’t focus on
creating more good – but creating harms to
‘mitigate previous harms’ – a scenario making
little sense.
• Brutalises society in extreme cases – people take a
form of pleasure in the suffering of others.
• Victims are irrationally barbaric in this situation.
Protection
• Keeps criminals away from society so society is
protected from their misconduct.
• Obvious utilitarian benefit.
Problems with protection
• Got to let them out at some point (or maybe you
don’t... But that would be inhumane)
• Clearly not absolute – or we’d be cutting hands off
thieves (or at least giving them the option).
Deterrence
• Imposing a sufficient penalty is necessary in order
to disincentivise criminal behaviour.
• Sets an example to society ‘don’t do this or this
will happen to you.’
Problems with deterrence
• Many criminals don’t consider the consequences
of their actions.
• Often it is merely the threat of being caught, rather
than the severity of the punishment.
• Indeed, making a punishment large enough so that
it balances the utility of committing the crime
often makes it a disproportional and unfair
punishment.
Rehabilitation
• Transforms offenders into valuable members of
society.
• Prevents further offense by persuading the criminal
that their action was wrong.
• Often people’s actions were influenced by their
environment in society e.g. Growing up in a rough
area, so the state has failed and hence takes on a
duty of reparation towards the criminal.
Problems with rehabilitation
• Practically – it doesn’t work.
• Not sure which rehab programmes work on whom.
• Depends on individual’s psychological
background.
• Is it really possible to change a life-long socially
acquired set of values?
• Prisoners often pretend to have rehabilitated in
order to get early release.
Sentencing
• Are prisons the best option?
• Alternatives:
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Community Service
Fines
Drug courts
Restorative Justice
• This is also important to look at in terms of models
even in debates not directly related to prisons per say.
Police
• Are they effective/ ineffective?
• Should there be more (or less) of them?
• Should they be given greater means to carry out
their job?
Courts
• Two broad types of court cases: Criminal and Civil
– Criminal Cases consist of the stat prosecuting individuals or
companies
– Civil cases cover all other kinds of disputes between
people, from enforcing broken contracts to assigning
liability to car crashes etc.
• Burden of proof
– Criminal Cases: almost always lies with the prosecution to
show that a defendant is guilty of whatever crime he or she
is accused of.
– Civil Cases: is on each side to support their own claims
• Purpose of juries
– Should we keep them or not?
– Should we take them from a select group of society?
(i.e. trial by people of the same socio-economic group,
race etc. as you)