The British criminal justice system (CJS) is a multi-agency organisation founded by government bodies in order to deter criminal activity in society and enforce punishments on those who offend (Gov.uk, 2013). Once an individual has violated a law, the individual will have a sentence imposed on them. A sentence is ‘a court order specifying the punishment to be imposed on a person who has been convicted of an offence’ (Cavadino and Dignan, 2007: p, 411). The aims of sentencing as set out in section 142 of the Criminal Justice Act 2003 are as follows; the punishment of the offender, crime reduction, reform and rehabilitation, protection of the public, and reparation of the criminal to the victim (Ministry of Justice, 2009: p, 10). Therefore,
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Cavadino and Dignan (2007) recognise that reductivism is a forward thinking approach; proponents believe that punishment acts as a preventative measure that deters criminals from future transgressions. Heavily influenced by utilitarianism, reductivism aims to achieve ‘the greatest happiness for the greatest number’ (Newburn, 2013); therefore, by preventing offenders from causing more harm; the happier and safer their victims or society will feel (Ehrlich, 1996). The reductivist approach aims to prevent and deter future crime by ensuring there is an end goal to an offender’s punishment by utilising certain measures, such as deterrence, rehabilitation, and …show more content…
This course of action normally applies to offenders whose rehabilitation has been unsuccessful or violent criminals. By taking an offender of this nature out of circulation, the criminal justice system is protecting individuals in society from becoming potential targets (Newburn, 2013). Since Britain abolished the death penalty in the 1960s, the main form of incapacitation is imprisonment and according to Conservative Home Secretary Michael Howard, ‘prison works’ (Cavadino and Dignan, 2007). Nevertheless, the British justice system has imposed other means of incapacitation, such as ‘tagging’ also referred to as electronic monitoring and curfews. The idea of electronic monitoring is traceable to the early 1960s; furthermore, by 1970, the idea had turned in to a prototype that successfully tracked a person’s location, as long as that person remained in the local vicinity (Hale et al., 2013). Electronic monitoring or tag became a popular method of incapacitation in the late 1990s. The criminal justice system now uses electronic monitoring in a number of ways such as, the condition imposed on a community order, ‘as a condition of release from prison, or in conjunction with bail imposed by the court’ (G4s.uk.com, 2015). If an offender is ordered to wear an electronic tag, then he or she must obey the conditions of
Cavadino and Dignan (2007) recognise that reductivism is a forward thinking approach; proponents believe that punishment acts as a preventative measure that deters criminals from future transgressions. Heavily influenced by utilitarianism, reductivism aims to achieve ‘the greatest happiness for the greatest number’ (Newburn, 2013); therefore, by preventing offenders from causing more harm; the happier and safer their victims or society will feel (Ehrlich, 1996). The reductivist approach aims to prevent and deter future crime by ensuring there is an end goal to an offender’s punishment by utilising certain measures, such as deterrence, rehabilitation, and …show more content…
This course of action normally applies to offenders whose rehabilitation has been unsuccessful or violent criminals. By taking an offender of this nature out of circulation, the criminal justice system is protecting individuals in society from becoming potential targets (Newburn, 2013). Since Britain abolished the death penalty in the 1960s, the main form of incapacitation is imprisonment and according to Conservative Home Secretary Michael Howard, ‘prison works’ (Cavadino and Dignan, 2007). Nevertheless, the British justice system has imposed other means of incapacitation, such as ‘tagging’ also referred to as electronic monitoring and curfews. The idea of electronic monitoring is traceable to the early 1960s; furthermore, by 1970, the idea had turned in to a prototype that successfully tracked a person’s location, as long as that person remained in the local vicinity (Hale et al., 2013). Electronic monitoring or tag became a popular method of incapacitation in the late 1990s. The criminal justice system now uses electronic monitoring in a number of ways such as, the condition imposed on a community order, ‘as a condition of release from prison, or in conjunction with bail imposed by the court’ (G4s.uk.com, 2015). If an offender is ordered to wear an electronic tag, then he or she must obey the conditions of