RS- CRIME AND PUNISHMENT REVISION NOTES

Basic Notes • 140 prisons in England and Wales • 70,000 prisoners in England and Wales • Between £700-1000 to keep 1 prisoner in prison for a week • Most women in prison are mothers • Alcohol is part of the majority of violent crimes • A young offenders institution holds 15-21 year old people • It’s important to know right from wrong as for society to be functional we have to be law-abiding

Reasons for Crime • Social Reasons: Peer Pressure; Social Groups; Gangs; Racial Tensions; Cultural Issues; Inequality/Lack of Education; Religious; Lack of Qualifications; Drug and Alcohol Abuse • Environmental Reasons: Poverty; Unemployment Rising; Inadequate Housing (More crime in the North than the South) • Psychological Reasons: Mental Illnesses; Depression; Emotional Scaring; Greed; Selfishness; Violence

Punishments Forms of Punishment in the UK • Custodial Sentence (Imprisonment)- Adult prison if over 21 or otherwise young offenders from 14+ • Suspended Custodial Sentence- Offender only goes to prison to serve their sentence if they offend again during the set period of time • Fine- Amount depends on how serious the offence is and the person’s past behavior. The law states the maximum fine for each offence. Court takes into account the person’s ability to pay and time can be allowed for the fee to be paid • Community Service- Offender given between 20 and 240 hours of unpaid work that helps the community • Conditional Discharge- Offender makes a promise not to reoffend during a specific time, usually a year. If a further offence is committed during that time then they can be punished for both offences • Absolute Discharge- Person found guilty but no penalty mostly because the crime was minor or the magistrate felt it was committed outside of the offenders control • Bound Over- Person agrees to keep the peace for a certain period of time. If they fail then a fine will be made • Probation Order- Offenders have to see a probation officer or attend a probation centre, who supervises their behavior and tries to keep them out of trouble • Supervision Order- Young offenders can be placed under a supervision order for up to 3 years and involves attendance at a centre five days a week • Compensation Order- Court can order the person to pay up to £2000 to the victim in a case • Care- Some juvenile criminals can be taken into care by the local authority or be placed in secure accommodation • Caution- Some offenders especially juveniles are given a formal caution by the police • Tagging- Electronic tags are attached to criminals who can live normal live. They don’t need to be in prison because the authorities know where they are and what they are doing

Aims of Punishment • Reparation- Designed to help an offender put back into the community E.G Community Service • Retribution- The victim gets revenge and justice. The punishment should make people pay for their crime in proportion to the severity of the offence • Deterrent- The punishment should be so severe that it puts people off doing the crime in the first place. Punishment should deter people from committing similar offences and stop the offender from recommitting crime • Reform- Punishment should be aimed at reforming the criminal so they become honest law-abiding citizens who won’t commit crime again. This means providing them with education and qualifications so they feel that they no longer need to commit reoffend • Protection- Society must be protected from violent people or burglars so punishments should put such criminals in prison where they are no longer a danger to society • Vindication- Punishment should always be given to show that the law must be respected and is always right. To uphold the law for the laws sake

Christian Beliefs