What is the purpose of imprisonment? Part 1
Views about the desirability or efficacy of imprisonment differ widely between different people. However logically the starting point should always be to assess what precisely it is that one is seeking to achieve by the passing of a prison sentence. Logically this can be very different for different categories of offender. There are also different stages in the progression of an offender. Rehabilitation is one potential aim, but the feasibility of this will depend upon what the offence is, the age of the offender, and the attitude of the offender.
There are really a number of different threads to imprisoning offenders principally as follows:
1. Punishment. Some offences are very serious. The person committing them will generally be regarded as deserving of punishment. Deprivation of liberty is seen as a substantial punishment. There is also a public policy aspect of this. Unless the public regard the punishment as at least in some respects fitting the crime respect for the law will be diminished
2. Deterrent. The idea is that the person concerned will not commit the offence because they are concerned about the consequences. However the likely sentence is only one of a number of factors which could possibly deter offenders. For example if an offender regards the prospect of detection, still less conviction, as low, then that is likely to have more of an impact on offending patterns than the prospect of the sentence. Obviously very severe sentences may have a deterrent effect (for example, whilst not suggesting they be introduced, mutilation in some Islamic countries, the death penalty for drug dealers in various parts of Southeast Asia). Some offences of course involve gain and planning, and this may well be influenced by a deterrent. Impulse crimes are perhaps rather less likely to be influenced.
3. Protection of the public. This can be subtly different from categories one and two. Whilst offenders are in prison, then unless they escape (or are allowed out) they will not be committing offences amongst the public at large. This has more of an impact in some cases than others. When particular gangs have been imprisoned certain types of crime have fallen noticeably in their particular area
4. Rehabilitation. It is obviously better for virtually any prisoner to be rehabilitated back into normal law-abiding society. Prison is at least potentially an opportunity to do something about it. Whilst it might seem odd to contemplate sending someone to prison in order to rehabilitate them, whilst they are in prison if there is a realistic prospect of altering the causes or pattern of offending it is plainly sensible to take it.
5. No other choice. It is this category which is almost certainly a contributory cause to the swelling prison population. (Indeterminate sentences for repeat offenders has also had a substantial impact). Sometimes you will have repeat petty offenders who simply ignore everything you do to them. In the end the courts end up imprisoning them because there is simply nothing else they can think of to do with them.
Next week we shall look at how these categories should inform prison policy.