Andrew Ricker - 76170

GED216 Introduction to Sociology (3 Units)

Unit Essay Exam #2

2. Describe the four major goals of punishment: retribution, deterrence,

incapacitation, and rehabilitation. Analyze how the term "punishment" differs from

the term "corrections" in terms of how criminal behavior is handled.

Our textbook defines punishment as any action designed to deprive a person of things of value

(including liberty) because of some offense the person is though to have committed (Kendall, D

2018). This punishment has historically come with four major goals; retribution, deterrence,

incapacitation, and rehabilitation. We will proceed by detailing each of the above and further

our comparison by looking at those versus using corrections in handling criminal behavior.

Retribution is the idea that the punishment should fit the crime. A criminal who commits a crime

should receive a punishment as it relates to the severity of the crime they’ve committed. When a

crime has infringed upon the rights of others the punishment will be issued and the degree of

social harm they committed will dictate their punishment. As an example, petty theft compared

to grand larceny will each receive their own punishments and grand larceny will receive the

greater of those punishments.

The idea of deterrence is the practice of instilling fear of punishment to the population. A great

example of this are the signs posted alongside our carpool lanes that state the fine you will

receive if you illegally use the carpool lane. The sign is posted as a deterrent to using the carpool

lane when you are not entitled to do so. There is also a separation in ways we use deterrence in

that we can focus our efforts on the general population, or we can focus on specific criminals for

deterrence. The terms that correspond with this are general deterrence and specific deterrence.

Incapacitation is the thought that somebody who is incapacitated will be incapable of committing

a crime. We can incapacitate people in many ways and a major way of doing so is by locking

them in prison. Being in prison is a form of incapacitation in that the offender can not continue

to steal because they are now “locked up.” Similarly, we can use capital punishment as a form of

incapacitation. The offender of a heinous act whom we believe is incapable of rehabilitation will

be executed and would clearly never be able to infringe upon the rights of others again. Some

other forms of incapacitation can be seen in the use of tasers by police officers. The criminal

may be in the act of committing a crime and lethal force would not be warranted so the police

officers will use their tasers to incapacitate the offender on the spot.

We will also seek to return criminals to society through rehabilitation. Utilizing vocational

training, education, or therapy can prove successful in returning offenders to society as a law-

abiding citizen. While as many as 50% of criminals released from prison (incapacitation) will

return, rehabilitation is still an outlet we will attempt to use to help them return as functioning

members of society.
While punishment is the term we looked at to analyze retribution, deterrence, incapacitation, and

rehabilitation, the term corrections may be a more fitting term. Punishment is described as an

action designed to deprive a person of value while rehabilitation is a form of punishment that

seeks to give offenders more freedom through implementation of education or therapy.

Corrections is defined in our textbook as the great number of programs, services, facilities, and

organizations responsible for the management of people accused or convicted of criminal

offenses. In addition to prisons and jails, corrections include probation, halfway houses,

education and work release programs, parole supervision, counseling, and community service.

Correctional programs operate in Salvation Army hostels, forest camps, medical clinics, and

urban storefronts (Kendall, D. 2018). These many programs seek to rehabilitate criminals and

give them further life skills or coping mechanisms that they may have not once had. For that

reason, corrections as opposed to punishment seems to be a more fitting term.

Kendall, D. E. (2018). Sociology in our times: the essentials. Australia: Wadsworth.