How Punishment Effects Human Behaviour

How Punishment Effects Human Behaviour.

INTRODUCTION

The intention of punishment is to deter people from committing a crime and hopefully aid in rehabilitating of those who have been found guilty of committing a crime. There are numerous ways in which society tries to prevent crime; many of which are financially costly and require the use many resources. The judicial system, using courts and jails, is the primary mechanism for our community to try and deter individuals from committing crimes. It could be argued that this system is failing as the courts and jails are overpopulated with people committing crimes and therefore is not proving to be a big enough deterrent. Some criminals are able to still roam the streets for weeks before they have a hearing but there is a massive portion of the jailed population that are un-sentenced. A more wholelistic approach looking at preventing crimes, as well as punishing those who commit crimes, could provide better results. More needs to be done to allow people to get the help they require in order for them not to seek a life of crime. Increase funding needs to be channelled into areas where crime levels are high. People throughout the community need to be educated better and systems put in place to deter people from breaking the law.[pic 1][pic 2]

Crime is easily explained as “An action or omission which constitutes an offence and is punishable by law.”- Google dictionary. Crimes are referred to as the breaking of rules that have been set in place to protect society, the individual and property. Damage to any such thing can be punishable. A punishment is set in place to deter and as a consequence to the actions for anyone breaking the law. Simplistically laws are set in place so once a criminal is punished they do not wish to break them again, or to stop anyone from attempting to commit a crime in fear of being prosecuted.

The rehabilitation of criminals is seen to be a productive way of changing the actions of those whom commit crime. It looks to help people reintegrate back into society as a functioning member, and not a criminal. The use of rehabilitation is a way of giving people a second chance to right their wrongs and prove their worth as a citizen.

There is sometimes a situation where the scale of a crime and the publicity around it empowers people to seek retribution from those who have committed the offence. Most often, it’s the more dramatic, controversial, or tragic incidences that make the news, and these are the ones certain individuals in the community wish to seek retribution for. As humans, we all have opinions and the ability to judge depending on our background and upbringing, our view on retribution may differ.

Deterrence is a concept that relies on the assumption that the severity of the punishment and the probability of being caught outweighs the risk that someone is prepared to take to get away with the crime. Individuals need to be made aware of the consequences of committing crime a full understanding of the severity of the punishment and understand how that will affect their lives and the people around them. If the punishment is harsh enough and the risk of being caught high enough, it is more likely that there will be a decrease in crime. Such deterrents could include, fines, community service and jail terms.

It is almost impossible to create a perfect policing system where no crimes occur. Unfortunately due to human nature, there will always be some form of crime within a community. There will always be outcasts and deviance within the society but the stricter the norm, the more people will conform to them. Another deterrent includes that of the society, whether people are accepted because of their behaviours can influence people to not commit crime. If there was a possibility that friends and family would disown the person, it may deter them from committing the crime.