Crime and punishmentWhat are the aims of punishment?

There may be a number of reasons why someone commits a crime. Here are some of them.

• Some people commit crime because they want to fit in or be a part of a gang - this is called peer pressure.
• If someone is living in severe poverty and cannot afford even basic items, they may shoplift food or clothes.
• People who are addicted to drugs or alcohol may commit crimes in order to feed their habits.
• Sometimes individuals might commit crime out of rage, jealously or greed.
• Others may commit crimes during acts of riots or rebellion - such as direct action protest activities like blocking roads.

Often the aims of a punishment overlap, eg sending people to prison aims to deter people from committing similar crimes and it aims to protect the public from the individual who is guilty of the crime. Here are four recognised aims of punishment:

• deterrence - punishment that aims to put people off committing crime
• reformation - punishment that aims to reform the criminal
• retribution - punishment that aims to make the criminal pay for what they have done wrong
• justice - the aim is to ensure that the right and fair thing is done