The function of punishment in criminal justice.

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THE FUNCTION OF PUNISHMENT IN CRIMINAL JUSTICE

People everywhere long for security, a world without crime. Crime is a major problem to people and to governments. Gun crime, dangerous driving, burglaries, rape, drug abuse are common place worldwide. In Britain alone, violent crime has increased from 245,100 incidents during January to March this year to 272,900 in the second quarter, according to Home Office figures.  This includes homicides, conspiracy to murder and serious wounding.

This caused Hazel Blears to unveil her fear: “The increase in serious violence is an area of concern and I'm encouraged by more intensive policing and the impact of new measures to tackle gun crime.”  Speaking in the same line, the Home Secretary Mr. David Blunkett said: “Our aim is to put the sense back into sentencing, to ensure that punishments are appropriate to the crime.” Mr. Blunkett pinpointed the key element this article is concerned with: punishment. Why punishing? What is the main purpose of sentencing criminal offenders? This article discusses this issue. It will define what crime is, the factual sense of punishment, its forms and its effectiveness in criminal justice. We cannot speak about punishment in criminal justice without defining what justifies it: crime. What is crime? A crime is a legal wrong, a breach of a rule defining a type of conduct or behaviour, meant to protect the public, to control and safeguard discipline and good order within society ; always prosecuted by or in the name of the State and for which punishment is imposed upon conviction. In criminal justice, a legal wrong or offence should be serious enough to be classified as a crime. Therefore crimes are grave offences such as murder, rape, robbery, arson, burglary, paedophilia, the list is far-reaching. The stress on seriousness distinguishes crimes from misdemeanors, which are offences of a lighter grade. All human beings are imperfect and subject to mistakes which might bring prejudice or harm on others. But convicted criminals are willful offenders who deliberately break reasonable and clear boundaries set out to maintain social control and to protect human life. Without law on crime and its enforcement, no man or woman would enjoy his or her own freedom in life. The purpose of the Criminal Law is therefore ‘to protect the public and to safeguard social control.’ This is achieved through punishment.

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A punishment is a penalty inflicted by a court of justice on a convicted offender as a just retaliation for the purposes of reformation and prevention. Laws are established to protect the society. If they are broken there must be consequences for those who deliberately do so. The aim is to instruct in the practice of sticking to social norms and to prevent a recurrence of the wrong. Its essence is to teach and dissuade wrongdoers and onlookers. This is in harmony with Durkheim’s thinking: ‘The ultimate justification of any punishment is not only that it is a disincentive, but ...

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