Define punishment, state the four functions of punishment, and explain the restorative justice perspective

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

Punishment is any action designed to deprive a person of things of value (including

liberty) because of some offense the person is thought to have committed. Historically,

punishment has had four major goals: (1) Retribution—punishment that a person

receives for infringing on the rights of others. It is based on the premise that the

punishment should fit the crime: the greater the degree of social harm, the more the

offender should be punished. (2) General deterrence, which seeks to reduce criminal

activities by instilling a fear of punishment in the general public. Recently, criminologists

have debated whether imprisonment has a deterrent effect given the fact that high

rates of those who are released from prison become recidivists (previous offenders

who commit new crimes). (3) Incapacitation, which is based on the assumption that

offenders who are detained in prison or are executed will be unable to commit

additional crimes. This approach is often expressed as "lock them up and throw away

the key!" In recent years, more emphasis has been placed on selective incapacitation,

which means that offenders who repeat certain kinds of crimes are sentenced to long

prison terms. (4) Rehabilitation, which seeks to return offenders to the community as

law-abiding citizens by providing therapy or vocational or educational training. Based

on this approach, offenders are treated, not punished, so that they will not continue their

criminal activity. However, many correctional facilities are seriously understaffed and

underfunded in the rehabilitation programs that exist. The job skills that many offenders

learn in prison do not transfer to the outside world, nor are offenders given any

assistance in finding work that fits their skills once they are released. Recently, newer

approaches have been advocated for dealing with criminal behavior. Key among these

is the idea of restoration, which is designed to repair the damage done to the victim and

the community by the offender's criminal act. This approach is based on the restorative

justice perspective, which states that the criminal justice system should promote a

peaceful and just society? therefore, the system should focus on peacemaking rather

than on punishing offenders.