Learn the Objectives of Criminal Law

Penal law and the penalties that are associated with disregarding criminal laws have been created with various objectives in mind. Court-authorized legal sentences are not created and decided upon simply for the amusement of the court. They are executed with the intent to reach specific goals and address certain social requirements. Often, these punishments are imposed in order to provide justice to individuals who have been harmed or wronged by the tried criminal. In other cases, penalties are levied so that the perpetrator understands the consequences of their actions. Knowing the penalties may deter them from similar behavior in the future. There are various different reasons that penal law imposes penalties on individuals who take part in destructive, harmful, or otherwise adverse behavior. Retribution The most widely recognized and well-known objectives of criminal law and criminal law sentences is retribution. Retribution occurs when an individual is punished for the detrimental behavior that they have taken part in and the crimes that they have committed. In the United States criminal justice system, an individual who disregards the law must be punished. The penalty that a criminal will receive for their actions will depend on the severity of the crime that they committed. The severity of the punishment must reflect the severity of the crime. Therefore, individuals who have taken part in more harmful behavior will experience more extensive penalties for their actions. Retribution not only provides punishment to an individual who has violated criminal law, but it also provides the victim and the victim's family with peace of mind. An individual who has been harmed by the actions of a criminal may feel justified knowing that their assailant is being punished for their crimes. Deterrence One of the primary goals of incarceration is to deter individuals from taking part in criminal activities. Deterrence may occur in numerous different ways. Individual deterrence is the focus of the court and the judicial system on convincing a criminal not to become a repeat offender. They do this by developing harsh punishments for crimes. An individual who receives a heavy sentence for a crime that they have committed will be less likely to take part in criminal activity when they finish their sentence. As a result of their crime they were required to spend many years in prison. They most likely missed out on important events and they could not take part in the activities that they once enjoyed. One of the primary purposes of incarceration is to convince a convicted criminal that taking part in criminal activity is not worth the penalties that they will receive. General deterrence is similar, but works on a much larger scale. Courts establish legal precedence to deter individuals from taking part in criminal activity. If an individual is aware that there are severe consequences to committing a crime and if they have seen other individuals receive these penalties, then they will be less likely to partake in the same illegal activities. The effectiveness of deterrence is often debated, but it continues to be a primary goal of criminal sentencing. Incapacitation Individuals who are responsible for violating penal laws are often a danger to themselves and to others. This is especially true if the offender has committed violent crimes. An individual who has physically harmed another person poses a threat to society. Either they are extremely careless and negligent, or they have an obvious disregard for human life and well-being. In instances such as this, the penalties that are associated with disregarding penal laws are aimed at incapacitation. This will generally require the offender to spend time in prison. The amount of time that the perpetrator will have to spend in jail will vary based on the severity of the crime that they committed. However, requiring the offender to spend time in jail will remove them from the streets and will ensure that they cannot inflict harm on any other individuals. The extent of the sentence will increase if the physical harm that resulted from the crime was extremely severe or if the individual is a repeat offender. Rehabilitation Rehabilitation is the newest philosophy regarding criminal law and the sentencing of penalties for criminal behavior. Many individuals believe that punishment and deterrence have not been successful in decreasing criminal activities and violent crimes. In many cases, these goals create more hostility and cause an individual who has been convicted of violating the law to feel angry. These individuals are likely to become repeat offenders and take part in more criminal activity in the future. In order to ensure that the level of crime decreases, it is essential to establish an effective method of guaranteeing that ex-convicts will not continue to take part in harmful and illegal behavior. In order to do this, many individuals believe that rehabilitation should be a primary goal of criminal law and the penalties of violating this law. Rehabilitation will provide individuals who have been convicted of crimes with the knowledge, the tools, and the resources that they need to renter society and an individual who is fit to be an honest citizen and a beneficial part of the community. Criminals need to be given the opportunity to provide for themselves and maintain their livelihood. Without rehabilitation they will continue to resort to crime. Restitution Restitution is another very common objective of the criminal justice system. When an offender commits a crime they are responsible for harming or damaging an individual or an individual's property. If the crime that they have committed did not bring harm upon an individual then it most likely brought harm and damage upon a community or society as a whole. In many cases, a criminal benefits from their deviant behavior. They may rob a store and use the money that they obtain to purchase themselves new objects. In order to ensure that an individual does not benefit from the criminal behavior that they have taken part in, criminal law has developed the practice of restitution. If a perpetrator is required to pay restitution, then they must reimburse their victim for any of the injury or the damage that they have caused. This may include physical injury that the victim sustained or damage that occurred to property during the offender’s illegal activity. There are various ways that a judge may require a criminal to pay restitution and it may not always involve the exchange of money. Restitution not only ensures that a criminal does not benefit from their adverse behavior, but it compensates a victim for their loss.