Crime and Punishment

Types of Crime Justifications of Punishment Punishment and Controversy

Types of Crimes
Crimes Against Persons Crimes Against Habitation Crimes Against Property Crimes Against Morality Modern Crimes Consensual Crimes

Types of Crimes
Crimes Against Persons
Also known as violent crimes
There are five major types that the FBI measures: Battery: Unlawful application of force by a person on another. Homicide: The killing of one human being by another. Hate Crimes: Can be defined as an offense motivated by hatred against a victim because of his or her race, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, handicap, or national origin. Rape: Unlawful sexual intercourse without her /his consent with the intent to rape.

Types of Crimes
Crimes Against Persons
The fifth type of crime against persons is assault. Two different types: Attempted Battery: Engagement in conduct that comes reasonably close to committing a battery, having the present ability to succeed in committing the battery, and intending to commit the battery. Intentionally Placing Another in Fear: The placing of another person in fear that he or she will receive an immediate battery; the victim must be in fact apprehensive; the conduct must be sufficient so as to create apprehension in a reasonable person; and the defendant had the intent to create that apprehension.

Types of Crimes
Crimes Against Habitation
These crimes are against the place where a citizen sleeps regularly.
Two major types (Territo 2004): Burglary: which is the breaking and entering of the dwelling house of another in the nighttime with the intent to commit a felony therein. Arson: The malicious burning of a dwelling house of another.

Types of Crimes
Crimes Against Property
These crimes include (Territo 2004):
Larceny: Taking and carrying away the personal property of another with the intent to permanently deprive the owner of the property.

Robbery: Same elements as Larceny but adds that the taking of property must be in the presence of the victim by the means of either violence or intimidation, or both.
Embezzlement: Fraudulent conversion of the property of another by one who is already in lawful possession thereof with the intent to defraud the victim.

Types of Crimes
Crimes Against Morality
Includes:
Bigamy: Marrying another person while ones spouse is still living.

Incest: Two people either marry or have sexual relations when they are closely related by blood.

Types of Crimes
Modern Crimes
The most frequent modern crimes include:
Computer Crime (case in point: online gambling in SG) Identity Theft Credit Card Fraud

Types of Crimes
Consensual Crimes
Also known as victimless crimes, because it is an act that all involved parties choose to be involved.
These crimes include gambling, drug use, and prostitution. However, some people argue that these crimes are not victimless crimes, because social norms are violated.

Types of Crimes
Consensual Crimes
Think about this:
Two main arguments are made for decriminalizing activities such as marijuana use, pornography, and prostitution. What might these be?

Types of Crimes
Consensual Crimes
Think about this:
Two main arguments are made for decriminalizing activities such as marijuana use, pornography, and prostitution. What might these be? Criminal sanctions against these activities constitute an unwarranted intrusion into individual privacy and an indefensible extension of the governments authority. Some argue that enforcing laws against these activities overburdens the police, the courts, and the prisons and increases congestion problems in the criminal justice system.

Types of Crimes
For further reference
Territo, L., Halsted, J.B., & Bromley, M.L. (2004). Crime and justice in america: A human perspective. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education, Inc.

Justifications of Punishments
Retributive Theory / Backward-looking Retribution
Utilitarian Theory / Forward-looking Incapacitation Deterrence Rehabilitation Restitution / Reconciliation

Justifications of Punishments
Retributivism
Lex talionis, an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth Core concept: the offender should suffer at least equally to the victim

Justifications of Punishments
Retributivism
Is Retributivism just revenge?
Critics of retributivism have argued that it is just revenge dressed up in nice clothing. However, proponents of retributive justice argue that retribution is not simply vengeance. Retribution is directed at the crime and not personal. It involves no pleasure at the sufferings of others.

Justifications of Punishments
Retributivism
Further criticisms of Retributivism
Lex talionis offers little guidance in specific cases of punishment Can lead in particular cases to punishments that are cruel and that have no morally good effects

Justifications of Punishments
Deterrence
The deterrence argument has two premises:
Empirical Premise: Punishment deters crime. Normative Premise: Reducing crime is good. Conclusion: Punishment is good.

Justifications of Punishments
Deterrence
Empirical Premise: Punishment deters crime.
Uncontroversially true in general sense But, does it deter those who are the worst criminals?

Justifications of Punishments
Rehabilitation
How would you argue for and against rehabilitation as a form of punishment for criminals?

Justifications of Punishments
Rehabilitation
Against Rehabilitation
Some have objected that prisons are training schools for prisoners May conflict with demands of retribution May result in longer sentences in some cases, much shorter in others May be very costly to administer

Justifications of Punishments
Rehabilitation
For Rehabilitation
Universal Declaration of Human Rights: Articles 1, 2, 3 ,5, 29. Assumptions: people are not permanently criminal rehabilitation can reduce criminal recidivism

Justifications of Punishments
Restitution / Reconciliation
The Scales of Justice
Fundamental metaphor: an underlying balance which must, if upset, be put back in order Punishment is seen as resetting the moral balance by punishing the offence Punishment of elderly Nazis

Justifications of Punishments
Restitution / Reconciliation
How, after a rupture in society, do we reestablish harmony?
Nazi war crimes trials Peace and Reconciliation Commission in South Africa Truth commissions in Latin American countries such as Chile after overthrowing dictators Persecution of Khmer Rouge regime

Justifications of Punishments
Restitution / Reconciliation
Proponents of restitution and even some retributivists argue that victims have a right to see their perpetrators suffer their just desserts
E.g. families of victims at executions

Punishment and Controversy

Punishment is a social construct
What counts as a crime or a valid form of punishment depends on societal choices. Some of these appear to vary from one society to another.
Drug use Sexual orientation and practices Vandalism

Punishment and Controversy

Punishment and social conditions
Many theorists are concerned that too great a concentration on punishment detracts from solving the social conditionssuch as poverty-that give rise to crime.
In the United States, there is a disproportionately large percentage of people in prison (716 per 100,000) Blacks 3161 per 100,000 Whites 487 per 100,000 Singapore 230 per 100,000 Japan 54 per 100,000

Punishment and Controversy

Punishment and imagination
Consider punishment other than prison so that the offender
May gain insight into the pain and suffering caused by the crime Drunk drivers going to accident scene May be more effectively rehabilitated Avoids prison as a school for criminals

Punishment and Controversy

Punishment of Juveniles
In many places in the United States, children had been tried as adults even though they were less than 18.
In Florida, a 14 year old boy was given a sentence of life without parole for killing a 6 year old girl when he was 12 years old. On March 1, 2005 the Supreme Court abolished the death penalty for crimes committed when the offender was less than 18 years old. This affected 72 persons on death row:

The younger the perpetrator, the greater the reason for trying to rehabilitate rather than simply punish.

Punishment and Controversy

Chronic Offenders
Data on repeat offenders released in 1994:
Released prisoners with the highest rearrest rates were robbers (70.2%), burglars (74.0%), motor vehicle thieves (78.8%), those in prison for possessing or selling stolen property (77.4%), and those in prison for possessing, using, or selling illegal weapons (70.2%). Within 3 years, 2.5% of released rapists were arrested for another rape, and 1.2% of those who had served time for homicide were arrested for homicide. http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/abstract/rpr94.htm

Punishment and Controversy

Chronic Offenders
How do we deal with chronic offenders who will very probably commit further crimes as soon as they are released?
Three strikes law Chemical castration Approved by California legislature in 1996 for chronic sex offenders on parole, also in Montana Indefinite sentences Confine to mental institutions after sentence is servedokd by Supreme Court in 1997

Punishment and Controversy

Privatisation of Punishment
Punishment is a major growth industry in the United States. More and more prisons are being built by private firms.
Whats the problem here?

Punishment and Controversy

Punishment and Torture

Juvenile Justice Project

Refer to handout!