Punishment or sanction is a force used by the state in order to provide a
peaceful society and to enforce law and order in society. Providing a peaceful
society and proper living conditions are the fundamental duties of any state.
Since ancient times, the theories of punishment were used to punish wrongdoers
or criminals in any particular state depending on the type of theory that the
state followed. As of now, due to changes in time and development, the nature
of punishment has changed. Now the human rights and human dignity is taken much
into consideration. The major focus now lies in giving fair justice and
compensation to the victim. Thus, a punishment must be such that it keeps the
victim and the offender in equilibrium or on the same platform.
This document comprises of various theories of punishment and the kind of theory
prevailing according to the researchers in the top ten economies of the world,
their crime rate and the success achieved by these theories of punishment to
curb the crime in the top ten economies. This paper even contains the
comparative analysis of the crime rate in the top ten economies of the world in
the form of graphs and tells us about the most successful theory according to
the researcher.
Introduction
Society is one in which people live and has its own way of public monitoring or
control due to which it formulates certain legislations that are backed by
sanctions. These sanctions are nothing but the punishment itself.
Many philosophers have formally introduced various definitions of punishment.
Certain elements necessary to describe punishment are:
- It is a force imposed by a politically superior authority.
- It inflicts certain loss or damage to the criminal or the wrong doer
either monetarily or physical which may even include confinement.
- It is a consequence to an offence.
- The person to whom the damage is inflicted should be deemed liable for
that offence.
One of the major influencing factors of punishment is that the kind of
punishment imposed is affected by the kind of society one resides in. With the
alteration in time and evolution of the human mind and consciousness, the
theories of punishment have turned out to be more tolerant of criminals. A major
example is that of capital punishment which now in present times, witness
oppositions such as inhuman, though it was known to be a serious way of
penalizing the criminals in historical times whereas in present times the law
states that it does not penalize the criminal but only the responsible or guilty
state of mind for that crime.
To understand punishment as mentioned under criminal law, it becomes important
to know what crime or offence really is.
According to Salmond: Crime is an act deemed by law to be harmful to society as
a whole though its immediate victim may be an individual.[1]
Thus, it becomes important to a high degree for a society to punish the
offender. Therefore, we can say that the punishment is a method of reduction or
prevention of crimes either by way of discouraging the possible offender and
obviating the offender from repeating the crime and turning them into citizens
responsibly following the laws of society. Thus, there are basically four
theories of punishment containing general policies namely:
- Deterrent
- Retributive
- Preventive
- Reformative
The specific type of punishment given by a specific society following a specific
theory of punishment is a mode of its own kind of social control and protection.
Of course it is not necessary that every society or state has a similar
particular standpoint on the issue of punishment.
It can be very well stated that the enactment of any legislation brings about
two folds in the society:
- Obedient to that law
- Breakers of that law
The theories of punishment serve the purpose of transforming or changing these
breakers of law to the group of those who are obedient to the law by any means.
Methodology
The study done for this paper is doctrinal as well as analytical in nature which
includes legal principles, theories, crime index, rate, etc. For this purpose,
the researchers has gone through many journals, books and have made deep
internet searches on the above topic.
In this paper, we would like to bring into notice and create interest of the
reader towards:
- Theory of punishment prevailing in the top ten economies.
- Criminal law system prevailing in those economies.
- Crime rate and crime index in the top ten economies.
- Analysis as a result of this research paper showing which theory is the
best performing.
Crime and Punishment
Surely any person can easily notice how crime and punishment are firmly related.
Crime is an action which is considered ill by the society and should be punished
by the implementation of law. It is an offence committed which is not only
against any particular victim, but also against the state or community at large.
In different societies, the punishment or the form of punishing the criminal
may be of distinct nature but it is remarkable that all these punishments emerge
out of some action or omission.
As evident, the definition of crime differs from society to society. Therefore,
it must be noted that the sanction for such would vary according to the society.
A particular action may be unlawful in one society but not in another.[2]
According to Durkheim, punishment is treated as the reaction of society against
crime. He says, if punishment is a proportionate response to the harm caused to
the society then the extent of the punishment inflicted must be clearly sorted
out.[3]
According to us, the punishment in the modern world must be such that it keeps
the criminal and the victim or the family of the victim in equilibrium.
Therefore, the concept of punishment can be summarized as:
- It is a result or the consequence of a wrongful act.
- It is the infliction of certain kinds of pain on the criminal. The word
pain here includes uncomfortable and unpleasant circumstances.
- It must be directly proportional to the wrongful acts committed.
If we apply an analytical approach to the actions of the criminal or criminal
behaviour or criminal conduct, an act to be right or wrong can be calculated by
the pain and pleasure theory of J. Bentham. According to this theory, one can
easily say that the crimes in society can be minimized when the pain associated
with the crime is much more than the pleasure in the mind of the wrongdoer.
Thus, such pain and pleasure can also be quantified or can be measured by the
device known as utilitarian calculus.
Therefore, we can summarize that according to J. Bentham, the major function of
law is to increase pleasure and avoid pain from society.[4]
Theories of Punishment
The theories regarding the justification of punishment differ from one society
to another. According to Sir John Salmond, the ends of criminal justice are four
in number, and in respect to the purposes served by them punishment are
classified as follows[5]:
Deterrent theory:
Deterrent theory of punishment accepts the reality that harsh pain is
reflected on offenders so that it deters them. The crime committers possess
pleasure in whatever crime or activity they do. And to compensate,
punishment should be equivalent to the crime committed by the offender to
prevent the crime to be repeated. The punishment executes the component of
pain to rectify the pleasure caused in the mind of the criminal. This pain
helps in strengthening the man for the future. J.Bentham, the founder of
this theory states:
'General prevention to be the chief end of punishment as its the real
justification. If we could consider an offence, which has been committed as an
isolated fact, the like of which would never recur, punishment would be useless.
It would only be adding one evil to another.
But when we consider that an
unpunished crime leaves the path of crime open, not only for the same delinquent
but also for all those who may have the same motives and opportunities for
entering upon it, we perceive that punishment inflicted on individuals becomes
the source of security for all.
That punishment which considered in itself
appeared base and repugnant to all the generous sentiments is elevated to the
first rank of benefits when it is regarded not as an act of wrath or vengeance
against a guilty or unfortunate individual who has given way to mischievous
inclinations, but as an indispensable sacrifice to the common safety.'[6]
Bentham's Theory was based on the notion that individuals would deter crime if
punishment given is in a certain manner and should correspond to the offence and
eventually reform the offenders. Bentham and John Stewart Mill introduced a
legal system known as Utilitarianism. Utilitarianism is an ethical theory in
which an action is right if it promotes happiness and is considered wrong if it
promotes the reverse of happiness. It basically aims to promote human exertions
towards 'maximization of pleasure and maximum minimization of pain.'[7]
Hence, the deterrent theory focuses on providing definitive punishment by
descent penalties.
Retributive theory:
Retributive theory stresses on the concepts of paybacks and retaliation
instead of well-being and safety. Harsh punishment is given to the criminal
by way of putting him in prison beneath the unpalatable form. It also states
that punishment given is a cessation in itself so that no replication of
crimes takes place and it also states that the level of punishment should be
equivalent to the seriousness of the crime. Although this theory is not favoured by some lawyers, sociologists, and criminologists as they
think it's excruciating and oppressive, J.M. Finnis argued in favour of this
theory.
He considered it a balance of parity in the distribution of pros and
cons by restraining the will of offenders.[8] Sir Walter Moberly states:
Punishment serves to express and to satisfy righteous indignation which a
healthy society treats as transgression. As such it is an end itself.'[9] Kant
argues that 'retributive theory sees justification in the fact that an offence
has been committed which deserves the punishment of the offender.
He also
argues that this theory is not only a condition for punishment but also a
sufficient one and can be called ‘natural justification.' Natural justification
is an individual thinking that a person committing a crime should be punished
and a good individual should be rewarded. Bentham too saw natural retribution as
vengeance.[10]
To conclude, the retributive theory focuses on payback and retaliation and
giving punishment according to the seriousness of the crime.
Preventive theory:
Preventive theory works on the fact so as to prevent the crime instead of
gaining vengeance. Here, punishment is considered as a kind perspective
which states that criminals should be sent to prison so as to protect
society from any anti-social acts and to prevent further crime from the same
criminal.
Bentham favoured preventive theory as it daunted the offenders from any wrong
acts along with punishing them gently and forbearing them. Preventive theory
sets restrictions on offenders so as to prevent further crime and offence. The
punishment given to the offender here is for safeguarding the harmony of the
society. It rarely works for making a criminal a better person. Thus, keeping
the criminal in prison only makes him violent and frustrated. And if a criminal
repeats the crime he is reproachable for death and imprisonment.
Thus, preventive theory helps in only preventing the crime to happen in the
future by keeping the criminal behind the bars.
Reformative theory:
Reformative theory is a theory that helps in transforming a criminal into a
better person and focuses on the renewal of a man so as to begin a new life.
This theory is based on reforming the criminal or the offender by providing
education and certain other individual treatments. Criminal is treated as a
human and reformative theory focuses on making the criminal a better person
by providing these measures so that he is accepted by society again. The
reformative and deterrent theory works together.
The criminal is punished where he realizes his guilt and wishes to reform
himself for good. It is one of the positive theories and its aim is the
reformation of the offender. It can be seen as the rehabilitative process
and not a punishment. This theory helps in making the offender a good
citizen. The reformation theory works through the process of
individualization.
For example:
an offender does an
act against the society under certain situations that may never occur in the
future, so any effort to reform the offender is done during his confinement
which makes him realize his guilt and makes him a normal citizen to lead a
better life.
Thus, reformative theory releases the offender if they feel that he has reformed
and can mingle with society back again. The reformative theory works through the
parole and probation process. Salmond favours this theory and states that if
criminals are to be sent to the prison to be transformed into good citizens by
physical, intellectual and moral training, prisons should be turned into
comfortable dwelling places.[11]
So, here the punishment given to the offender is for his reformation and to make
him a law-abiding member of the society. The reformative theory works best for
first-time crime committers and juveniles.
Top world economies and theory of punishment prevailing and crime rate
From ancient times, in order to punish the criminal and to obviate him from
committing a crime, every economy uses different types of theory of punishment
to deter, reform, retribute or to prevent the happening of the crime and to
protect society.
The researchers in this research paper on the basis of their research has stated
the different types of theory of punishment prevailing in the top economies.
United States
In the US, the prisons are overcrowded with violent criminals inside. The
process of rehabilitation and that of reformation is rarely found in the
prisons. In fact, in the US, one in 100 US adults is behind the bars.[12] The
rate of putting people in jail is more in the US than in any other country. Yet,
more than three-fourths of the prisoners are released early that often leads
them to cause a wrongful act or a crime again, thus, resulting in putting them
behind the bars again.
Crime continues to be a major problem in the states of the US as the prisons in
the US do not operate much on rehabilitation basis. Encouraging and praising the
criminals lack in the prisons of the United States and all are treated the same
without paying much for changing their behaviour. Prisons are considered a place
only to punish the criminals for their wrongful act and not focusing on their
physical and mental illness which creates more suffering to the prisoners.
Young offenders are more in number but once they commit their first crime they
are released early after going through a shorter period of imprisonment thus,
leading them to commit more violent crimes heading them back to prisons again.
Adults are left with longer imprisonment which creates a deterrent effect
because of the period of imprisonment to be longer than those of young ones.[13]
Criminals lack the idea of what harm they are causing to society. Very often
they are given harsh punishments which rarely affect their behaviour. Thus,
according to the researchers, the kind of theory of punishment prevalent is a
deterrent and retributive theory.
The crime index in the US as per 2019 is 46.73 with a population of
approximately 331 million.[14] The crime rate in the US from 1995 till 2016 has
reduced from 8.11 to 5.35 per 100 thousand population.[15]
China
China is the largest of all the Asian countries and its criminal law is based on
the socialist system i.e. the reformation of the criminals.
China, being the most populated country concentrates on minimizing the crime
rate by helping the criminals to reform into law-abiding citizens as it is
essential for the society one lives in.
China's primary aim is to convert the offenders into law-abiding citizens and
one who supports themselves with their own labour and hard work and also to
reform them as free citizens.
China has been very successful in reforming the majority of criminals,
offenders, and even criminals during wars into socially- beneficial and
inoffensive citizens. This eventually helped in protecting their rights.
Criminals are also provided proper living conditions in prison so as to
safeguard human dignity.
Hence, the researchers are of the opinion that China uses reformative theory of
punishment and is quite successful. China uses the basic idea that people can be
reformed as it pays major attention to the principles of humanitarianism.
With this China always had a positive standpoint in protecting the rights of
criminals and is always against humiliation.
In the reformation of criminals, China concentrates on providing education on
legal, moral, cultural and technical subjects to encourage criminals for
reformation and thus encouraging reformative theory as a primary method of
punishment.
China as being the most populated has met great achievements in criminal reform
by the implementation of such a theory. About 0.4 million cases occur every year
in China but the crime incidence rate among the population is only about 2 per
1000 population per year which is the lowest in the world.[16]
The crime index of the most populated country as per 2019 is 36.7 where the
population was approximately 1.4 billion.14 The crime rate is ever decreasing
from 2000 until 2016 from 2.09 to 0.62 as per 100 thousand population. [17]
Japan
The criminal law system in Japan is based on the civil law of the country. The
accused as a person is considered innocent until he has been proven guilty of
the crime committed or of any wrongful act. The burden of proof lies within the
prosecutor.
The punishment given in the Japanese criminal system is in accordance with the
crime committed and as prescribed under the law.
The researchers here would like to mention that according to them the theory of
punishment prevalent is deterrent and reformative theory as the punishment is in
accordance with the crime committed and the prisoners spend their sentence with
hard labour for which they receive nominal wages. If the sentence includes the
fine as well as imprisonment, they can use the wages to pay their fines and are
detained until the fine is paid.
Japan has two types of prosecution:
- Formal trial: for serious offences and crimes.
- Summary procedures: for minor offences including fine and compensation
to the victim.
In contrast, arrests in Japan for minor offences lead to lengthy stay of
offenders in police detention and as of Japanese law, the police have the right
to start the investigation process before they even meet their lawyers.[18]
But once the crime is committed, where a major offence is done, the criminal is
given punishment according to the crime committed and is liable to pay a fine.
The Japanese jail also focuses on reforming the criminals into good citizens by
introducing different labour activities through which they earn wages to pay off
their fines.
The crime index in Japan as per 2019 is 15.91 where the population was
approximately 126 million.14 The crime rate is ever decreasing from 1995 until
2016 from 0.54 to 0.28 per 100 thousand population. Thus, the implementation of
deterrent and reformative theory of punishment has met
great success in reforming the crime rate.[19]
Germany
Germany is considered a safe country as compared to other nations with less
violent crimes taking place and punishment usually is in the form of fines and
imprisonment.
The acts offensive in nature comprises of two types in Germany:[20]
- Serious crimes: comprising punishment of one year or more.
- Less- serious crimes: comprising fines and imprisonment.
The most common punishment in Germany is that of paying fines. All the crimes
are handled at first instance by the local courts. In the case of violent
crimes, the punishment given is in accordance with the crime committed and with
imprisonment of not less than ten years.
According to the researcher, Germany applies the preventive theory of
punishment, as it helps in the prevention of the crime that may cause further
harm to the society and in order to protect the society from any wrongful act by
punishing them gently.
The crime index of Germany as per 2019 is 34.6 with a population of
approximately 83 million.14 The crime rate in Germany from 1995 till 2016 has
reduced from 1.72 to 1.18 per 100 thousand population. [21]
United Kingdom
The criminal system in the UK concentrates on providing punishment according to
the crime committed. The punishment given must be suitable to the crime
committed under UK law.
The criminal law in the UK assigns the punishment which is directly proportional
to the graveness of the crime. In the UK, for most criminal cases, the
punishment is announced by the magistrate courts and the magistrate has an
alternative to transfer the offender to crown court because of the limited
powers they hold. With this, they think that an offender must receive a more
appropriate and higher punishment in the form of fines and longer
imprisonment.[22]
According to the crime committed, the punishment given to the offenders by
magistrate court is fine and imprisonment which is for a period of six months or
more than that up to a certain limit. Offenders are often given punishment in
the form of unpaid work in the local community, also called community
payback.[23]
Thus, the punishments or sentences for offences that are criminal in nature are
imprisonments, fine and community punishments.
Therefore, according to the researchers, deterrence is the most favoured theory
of punishment in the UK where the punishment is in accordance with the crime
committed.
The crime index in the UK is 43.64 with a population of approximately 67
million.14 The crime rate in the UK has reduced from 1995 till 2016 from 1.47 to
1.20 per 100 thousand population showing the successful nature of such a theory
of punishment.[24]
India
In India, the criminal law system is based on the Indian Penal Code. Punishing
the criminal is the main objective under the criminal law and it should be
directly proportional to the crime committed. The nature of punishment should
match with the graveness of the crime.[25]
In India, each case has its own facts and so are the punishments. The courts in
India work on a dual objective of punishing the criminals i.e. deterrence and
reformation.
The punishment should be given according to the crime committed. The punishment
for serious crimes is life imprisonment and the death penalty according to the
Indian Penal Code.
In India, the rights of the prisoners are taken into consideration in accordance
with the Constitution of India. The Constitution of India has articles that
protect the prisoners' rights and dignity as humans. Not only this, but the
judiciary in India focuses on prisoners' reformation. They concentrate that no
inhuman treatment and degradation of prisoners take place in prisons and that
human dignity is maintained. Proper protection should be available to prisoners
to safeguard their rights.[26]
The judiciary in India eventually has been very kind and sensitive to the
protection of the human rights of all the prisoners to maintain dignity as
humans. They also focus on providing proper healthcare facilities to avoid
mental and physical illness. Educational facility to the criminals is also
provided so that they can reform themselves into better versions of
themselves.[27]
Therefore, according to the researchers, the kind of theory of punishment
prevalent is a deterrent and reformative theory in India.
The crime index in India as per 2019 is 42.38 with a population of approximately
1.38 billion.14 The crime rate has also declined from 1995 till 2016 from 4.37
to 3.22 per 100 thousand population.[28]
France
France is considered a relatively safe country as most of the crimes that take
place here are non- violent in nature.[29]
Theft with minimum violence is the most common crime occurring in France. The
criminal law system is based on the French Penal Code and civil law. The
punishment given is according to the French penal code and focuses on providing
rehabilitation. The major aim is to prevent any crime from repeating and
protecting society from criminals.[30]
The reformation of prisoners is taken into consideration to maintain their human
rights and the punishment is given according to the seriousness of the crime
committed. The imprisonment for serious crimes is ten years and that of less
serious crimes is one to three years.
The punishment is determined by the courts itself and they also explain the
procedure on how to execute the punishment. The process of reformation is
carried out by giving community services. Capital punishment in France is
abolished since 1981.[31]
Educational courses, also including professional courses are provided to
prisoners for their reformation. This often leads to the shortening of their
imprisonment period due to their reformation, but such shortening of the
imprisonment period cannot exceed two months. Different educators and social
workers take participation to help in the reformation of the criminals.
Therefore, the researchers believes that the reformative theory of punishment is
the one that prevails throughout France and is much successful.
The crime index in France as per 2019 is 46.45 with a population of
approximately 65 million.14 The crime rate has declined from 1995 till 2016 from
2.31 to 1.35per 100 thousand population.[32]
Italy
The criminal law system in Italy is directly based on civil law. The legislature
provides a distinction between severe crime and that of simple crime on the
nature of the act itself. And a further distinction is made between the wrongful
acts of citizens and that of foreigners.
The major aim of the criminal law system in Italy is not to break down or punish
the criminal but to reform his criminal tendencies, by using proper penal
measures and providing education to the offenders.
There are three basic punishments:
- Imprisonment for life
- Limited imprisonment
- Simple imprisonment
Even guardianship subject to provisions of civil law is provided for certain
crimes to criminals.
The major foundation of criminal responsibility is based on the principles of
freedom of human action. Juveniles under the age of 9 are sent to detention
centres for education till they reach the majority age.[33]
Therefore, according to the researchers, the criminal law in Italy is majorly
based on the deterrent as well as the reformative theory of punishment which has
proved successful.
The crime index as per Italy is concerned is 44.35 as per 2019 with a population
of approximately 60 million.14 The crime rate in Italy from 1995 till 2016 shows
a good reduction from 1.78 to 0.67 per 100 thousand population representing the
success of the deterrent as well as of the reformative theory of punishment.[34]
Brazil
The criminal law system in Brazil is based on an antipathetic system. The
punishment given here is final when the criminal is found guilty which is
decided by the court itself.
The crime rate is high and the punishment given is in accordance with the crime
or offence committed. Prisons in Brazil do not lay down much importance on the
rights of the criminals and they are kept in uncomfortable and harsh conditions.
The prisons too are overcrowded because of the high crime rate and the majority
of the prisoners are poor and uneducated.[35]
On the other hand, the juveniles of the age group 13 to 18 are treated in a
slightly better way than adults as they are not sent to prisons but to so-called
educational institutions and are given community services where they focus on
changing the behaviour of juveniles so that they can change and fit better in
the society.[36]
Therefore, the researchers believes that there is a type of retributive form of
theory prevailing in Brazil as the majority of crimes are done by adults and
they face harsh conditions in prisons.
The crime index in Brazil is very high at 69.48 with a population of
approximately 212 million.14 The crime rate in Brazil has instead increased from
2000 till 2016 from 23.73 to 29.53 per 100 thousand population. Thus,
representing the lack present in their measures related to punishment.[37]
Canada
In Canada, the punishment given to the criminal or the offender is decided by
the court as the court determines a fair punishment according to the crime
committed, circumstances and the graveness of the crime or any offence.
There are two factors according to which the court decides punishments[38]:
- Aggravating factor: increasing the term of punishment
- Mitigating factor: decreasing the term of punishment in case of
first-time crime committers.
In Canada, the main aim of giving punishment is to pay tribute to law and
maintain fairness and peace in the society which was affected. The punishment is
given in such a form that it discourages the offender from committing any
wrongful act and also helps in separating these offenders from society. It not
only punishes the offender but also helps in the reformation of the offender and
creating a sense of responsibility towards the society by accepting what harm
was done or caused to society.
By far in Canada, the main objective is to prevent the society from these
criminal acts done by the criminals and putting them behind the bars and
reforming them into citizens obedient to the laws of society through
rehabilitation. The criminals try to develop a sense of responsibility within
themselves through the reformation process. Therefore, the researchers believes
that the theory of punishments prevalent are preventive and reformative theory.
The crime index in Canada as per 2019 is 39.48 with a population of
approximately 37 million.14 And the crime rate in Canada from 1995 till 2016 has
a minor decline from 1.84 to 1.68 per 100 thousand population.[39]
Analysis
Punishments or sanctions is the force used by the state in order to provide a
peaceful society and to enforce law and order in society. Providing a peaceful
society and proper living conditions is the foremost duty of the state. Thus, we
can say that punishment is major support or a strong pillar in the modern world.
Lack of utility of a correct theory of punishment in any state would create a
society without law and order.
The researchers in this research paper would like to focus on the theory which
has proved to be the most successful and could be the best to be implemented in
any state in order to curb crime.
In ancient times, the kind of punishment given to the criminals was based on
retribution, where the criminals were treated in an inhumane and insensitive
form.
As of now, due to change in time and development, the nature of punishment has
been transformed as now the human rights and human dignity is taken much more
into consideration that has eventually substituted the retributive theory to the
theory of reformation.
Experiences have been provided by the countries that show that the retributive
theory of punishment only frustrates the criminals or the offenders by keeping
them in harsh conditions and providing them harsh punishments and thus, leading
them to become insensitive and committing a wrongful act again and thus
increasing the crime rate.
Punishment must be such that keeps the offender or wrongdoer on the same level
or platform to that of the victim which can be done by providing punishment in
accordance with the crime committed. According to the law, the more serious the
crime, the more serious is the punishment. And the process would not only cause
the offender to come on the same level to that of the victim but would also
create a deterrent effect on the criminal in order to prevent the crime again.
The punishment given to the criminal would also set an example for others in
society and would create an idea of the consequence that would occur if they
commit any similar crime.
A state must even think that it is the criminal or the criminal intentions which
cause harm to society. Therefore, if a state can reform the criminal intentions
it would make him no less different to any law-abiding citizen. Psychologists
hold the view that crimes are due to mental disorder or insanity.
Thus, a
process of reformation is very necessary in order to reform a criminal into a
better person with a changed behaviour and further preventing him from
committing any crime or wrongful act that may cause harm to the society. The
process of reformation can include education, labour, hard work that not only
improves their physical as well as mental skills but also discourages him from
repeating any criminal act.
The process would not only reduce the crime rate but would create and increase
the manpower of any country that can eventually be utilized for the betterment
of any country.
Thus, a proper equilibrium between deterrence and reformation of a criminal must
be created in society to curb the crime.
Conclusion
In the end, the researchers would like to conclude that the punishments or the
sanctions which are given to the criminals or the offenders are purely to
control any offensive behaviour of criminal nature. The main aim is to protect
society from these criminals and the offenders so as to retain harmony.
The theories of punishment can be summarized as:
The punishment under the reformative theory focuses on the reformation of the
criminal to bring a sense of responsibility in him and towards society and
reform his behaviour.
The preventive theory concentrates on giving punishments to the criminals by
keeping them behind the bars so as to prevent any crime from happening again and
protecting society from these violent criminals.
Also, the punishments under the deterrent theory and the retributive theory are
sometimes used so as to deter the criminals and to create fear in the minds of
the criminals so as to prevent the happening of the crime again and to set
examples that the crime of such nature would lead to such harsh punishment.
Thus, punishment given to the criminals according to these theories is not only
to punish them but also to curb the crimes and offences. The researchers would
like to conclude that, these theories of punishment do not provide a full
guarantee to remove the crimes from society, but the effective implementation of
such theories can help in the reduction of the crime rates.
According to the researchers, though the punishment could be harsh and barbaric
in nature it should not be of that extent which causes harm to the criminal
physically or mentally. Nonetheless, it should be such that it keeps the victim
and the criminal on the same platform.
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Award Winning Article is Written By:
- Nitish Shrestha,
B.A.LL.B Third Year -
Maharaja Agrasen Institute of Management Studies,
(Affiliated to Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University, Delhi.)
Email: [email protected]
- Anushka Rastogi,
Bachelor in Commerce (Prog),
Gargi College, University of Delhi.
Email: [email protected]
Authentication No: SP31118281880-13-920
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