The Purpose of the Penal system

[McCulloch]

To varying degrees the penal system in modern countries may serve the following functions:

1. Punishment | Retribution
2. Deterrent
3. Protection
4. Rehabilitation.

Which is the primary function of the penal system? Which should be the primary function of the penal system? Which function does the penal system currently do best?

[Vladd44]

I couldn't agree more Platypus.

We have continued down the same path for a long time, yet we continue to be surprised at the result.

Here in the USA, we recently reached the milestone of 1000 executions since the reinstatement of the death penalty as an acceptable form of punishment.

With the rate of incarceration and punitive efforts of our system continuing to rise, one has to wonder how long we can continue the same types of punishment and expect anything other than the result we are getting.

While the total number of inmates in local, state and federal prisons has quadrupled in the past 20 years to more than two million, the restoration of State Sanctioned Murder (You Republicans might prefer the term Capital Punishment), and for most of that period mandatory sentencing guides, we have continued to see dramatic rises in our violent crime statistics.

There are times that the obvious answer isn't right. Personally, my experience has taught me that is usually the case.

Putting people in prison will lower crime, killing murderers will lower crime, putting drug addicts in prison will lower drug use and teens signing abstinence pledges will make kids safer. All of these things sound totally sensible. There is only one problem.

Our crime rates have continued to rise in proportion to the "stiffening" of our punishments, The murder rate is far higher than it was at the point of restoration of state sanctioned murder. Use and availability of street drugs has not been negatively impacted by our "War on Drugs". And teen girls who pledge abstinence are 8 times more likely to have oral sex, and 4 times more likely to engage in anal sex. Hardly behavior that is safe.

Usually the obvious assumption is as wrong as Aristotle's assumption that the speed of a falling object is proportional to its weight. Because it was so obvious that this was right that it was considered scientific fact for around 1500 years. It wasn't until Galileo that someone actually bothered to test and disprove this "fact".

So perhaps you pro "law and order" people should reexamine the evidence and quit assuming that the obvious answer is the right one.

[mrmufin]

Which is the primary function of the penal system?

As has already been stated, these functions seem to have some overlap. Here in the States, entertainment seems to be the primary objective and shows like COPS get us 'mericans all pumped up watching officers kick the crap outta young entrepreneurs selling dime bags of pot at the wrong time in the wrong place...

Which should be the primary function of the penal system?

I'm tempted to say deterrence should be the primary function, but the term penal system implies that a violation has already occured, and penalty will be administered. Thus, I'll suggest that either retribution and/or protection should be the primary role of the penal system, depending on the specifics of the crime. The general population deserves physical protection from violent individuals, but non-violent offenders may be best served by retribution and/or rehabilitation.

Which function does the penal system currently do best?

I'm inclined to say we are the least effective at rehabilitation, but I'm not quite as down on that aspect of the penal system as I might have been a few years ago. I've personally seen some pretty positive examples of colloborative rehabilitation methods at my place of employment, where quite a few "halfway house" persons have been given job opportunities and successfully been reintegrated into the community as productive members.

There really is no one-size-fits-all method of determining which penal functions are the most appropriate and worthwhile and which are not. Criminals are individuals and different individuals may respond positively to different methods. Perhaps determining which penal functions are the most appropriate on an individual basis is what should be strived for, rather than vengeance and TV ratings.

Regards,
mrmufin

[Cephus]

To varying degrees the penal system in modern countries may serve the following functions:

1. Punishment | Retribution
2. Deterrent
3. Protection
4. Rehabilitation.

Which is the primary function of the penal system? Which should be the primary function of the penal system? Which function does the penal system currently do best?

As far as I'm concerned, three out of four of the above need to be present in any case or prison isn't the right place for a criminal to be.

Prison should:

1. Protect society.
2. Punish the criminal/allow them to pay their debt to society.
3. Rehabilitate the criminal for their re-release back into society.

If all three are not being done, then the criminal has no place being in prison. Deterrent is not a factor, no punishment really deters anyone from commiting a crime, just like traffic tickets don't deter anyone from speeding. It just makes you slow down when the cop is around.

[ST88]

Which is the primary function of the penal system?
For the U.S. penal system, it's punishment.

Rehabilitation is confined to individual jurisdictions who wish to do such things. Often it's an outside group -- beyond the state penal system -- that takes control of this function.

Deterrence is also usually up to outside groups who have a general interest in seeing a more civil society (Scared Straight, for example, or many religious groups).

Protection of the public is a stated goal, but it is not the primary reason for the system. It's inextricably linked with the legal system, which puts a premium on punishment in lieu of protection. I.e., our system of laws does not have a provision for punishing future crimes and has a strict set of guidelines that a prosecutor must meet in order to send someone to prison.

Which should be the primary function of the penal system?
My neo-liberal side says rehabilitation. Punishment seems like a Conservative pipe dream towards Deterrence, which is impossible given the human tendency to act strictly on emotion. Deterrence only works for people who really have to think about the crimes they're committing -- financial crimes, for example. Protection is probably second, but punishment for its own sake isn't a bad thing.

Part of the problem with choosing among these ideals is that many of them are bound up with one another. Protection and punishment, for example, can both be addressed with prisons. Ideally, it's a time-out from society and its privileges, and it's also a way to segregate known offenders from those they have offended.

Also, don't forget that the prisoners are also being protected. Families of aggrieved parties may feel that they have to exact revenge on their own, instigating a cycle of violence that might never end.

Which function does the penal system currently do best?
Punishment. As far as I can tell, prisons currently occupy their own circle of Hell.