Forms of Punishment in Great Britain

The kinds of punishment may be classified as (a) custodial; (b) semi-custodial; and (c) other (non-custodial) forms.

1. Custodial.

Imprisonment. An adult offender is committed to one of H.M.¹ prisons of which there are various kinds, some “open” and some “closed” prisons. Broadmoor Mental Hospital is allocated for those suffering from insanity to be detained during H.M. pleasure. “Penal servitude”, “Imprisonment with hard labour”, and flogging have been abolished.

Most statutes lay down maximum punishments for particular offences. Robbery (Theft Act, 1968) and arson (Criminal Damage Act, 1971) are punishable by imprisonment for life. A Crown Court may award any sentence imposable by law from imprisonment to absolute discharge. A Magistrates’ Court may not sentence a person to more than 6 months’ imprisonment for any offence.

Hospital Order. This order may be made by a court where it is found the offender is suffering from mental illness or severe abnormality without first convicting him, if the court is satisfied that the accused did the act charged. The purpose of the order is to enable the offender to be compulsorily detained, or placed under guardianship, for as long as it is necessary in his and the public interest (Mental Health Act, 1959).

b) Semi-custodial.

Borstal. These institutions are for the training of young offenders between 15 and 21 years of age, where the court is of the opinion - having regard to the circumstances of the offence, the offender’s character and his previous conduct - that it is expedient that he should be detained for not less than 6 months. The maximum period of detention is 3 years. The offender is then subject to 18 months’ supervision. The general purpose of Borstal is to give all-round training for the development of character and capacities - moral, mental, physical and vocational. Home leave is given. The release date of each person is decided by the Home Secretary.

Detention Centres. A person over 14 and under 21 found guilty of offence, punishable in the case of an adult with imprisonment, may be sent to a Detention Centre for up to 3 months. Thereafter he will be subject to supervision for 1 year.

Community Homes. These homes are now in course of being set under the Children and Young Persons Act, 1969. They replace Approved Schools and Remand Homes. They are run by the local authorities and are used for children (i.e. those over 10 and under 14) and young persons (i.e. persons over 14 and under 17), for the purposes of remand and for correction where a person has been found guilty of an offence usually of a serious kind.

Attendance Centres. These are for person’s over 10 and under 21, found guilty of breach of probation or of an offence punishable in the case of an adult with imprisonment. The offender will be obliged to do chores, cleaning and scrubbing the centre, redecorating, car maintenance, etc. The maximum sentence is usually 12 hours, and the maximum hours on any one day (usually Saturdays) is 3 hours. Mostly it is of 2 hours’ duration.

Care Orders. These orders are made by a court where a child or young person is in need of care, protection or control, or has committed a criminal offence. The child or young person may be committed by the court to the care of a local authority, who may place him in a community home or a foster home, or he may be made subject to a hospital order or a guardianship order. The general intention under the Children and Young Persons Act, 1969, is to bring care proceedings only in respect of children under 14, and care proceedings or a criminal prosecution in respect of young persons between 14 and 17 years of age. The object is to try to keep children and young persons out of court and to help the parents of deprived or delinquent children by the provision of effective support “through the social and other services”.

c) Non-custodial forms

Absolute Discharge. This order may be made by a court where it finds the accused guilty, but, having regard to all the circumstances, thinks it inexpedient to inflict any punishment or to impose a probation order.

Conditional Discharge. This is similar to the above except that the offender is discharged subject to the condition that he does not commit another offence. If he does, he will be liable to be sentenced for the original offence. The condition cannot remain in force for more than three years.

Binding Over. The offender is found guilty, but the court requires him to enter into a recognizance and to keep the peace and to be of good behaviour. Binding over is a form of preventive justice. If the offender does commit another offence, he is liable to forfeit the sum named in the recognizance or bond he has already entered into.

Probation Order. The order may be made requiring the offender to be placed under the supervision of a probation officer for a specified period (not more than 3 years). A probation order may be made subject to conditions designed to ensure that the offence is not repeated. If the conditions in the order are broken or a further offence committed during the period of the probation, the probationer may be recalled for sentence on the original charge.

Fine. This is the imposition of the payment of money to the court for an offence committed. Certain statutes lay down the maximum which may be imposed. All summary offences are punishable by a fine with a fixed maximum, in accordance with a standard scale of five levels.

Compensation Order. When someone has committed a criminal offence that caused personal injury, loss, or damage, the court may make a compensation order requiring the offender to pay the compensation resulting from that offence to the person suffering the loss. Magistrates’ courts may not make a compensation order for more than 5 000 pounds. The court must take into account the offender’s means and should avoid making excessively high orders or orders to be paid in long-term installments. A compensation order may be made for funeral expenses or bereavement in respect of death resulting from an offence other than death due to a motor-vehicle accident. Compensation orders may be made in addition to, or instead of, other sentences. A court must order a parent or a guardian of an offender under the age of 17 to pay a compensation order on behalf of the offender unless the parent or guardian cannot be found or it would be unreasonable to order him to pay it.

Suspended Sentence. A custodial sentence that does not take effect immediately. When a person is sentenced to imprisonment for less than two years, the court may, in exceptional circumstances, order that he should not actually be imprisoned unless he commits another offence within a specified operational period of between one and two years. If the suspended sentence is for a prison term of more than six months, the court may also make a suspended sentence supervision order, placing the offender under the care of a probation officer. If the offender fails to comply with the terms of such an order he is liable to a fine.

Borstal order. The aim of Borstal was to give all-round training for the development of young offenders (aged 15 to 20 inclusive). Since 1983 sentence to borstal has been replaced by detention in a young offenders institution.

Deferred sentence. The sentence imposed by a magistrates’ court or the Crown Court after a period of up to six months from conviction for the offence. The court may postpone sentencing, if the convicted person agrees, if it wishes to assess any change in the offender’s conduct or circumstances during that time.

Community Service Order. A person over 17 may be required to perform community service of not more man 240 hours of unpaid work, usually at weekends. There are certain conditions. Thus the offender must consent to the order, and the service must be fulfilled within 12 months. The community service intended will be work involving repairing footpaths, slag heaps, nature reserves, churchyards, beaches, canals, children’s adventure playgrounds, work in hospitals, and so on. The community service must not interfere with religious observance, his normal work or education (Criminal Justice Act, 1972).

Deprivation of Property. Where a person is convicted of an offence punishable with not less than 2 years’ imprisonment, and the court is satisfied that any property in his possession or control on arrest has been used for committing any offence, or was intended to be used for that purpose, it may deprive him of any rights he may have in the property, which shall be taken into, or remain in, the possession of the police. A motor-vehicle, therefore, may be confiscated under this section (s. 23, Criminal Justice Act, 1972).

Disqualification from Driving a Motor Vehicle. Where a person is convicted on indictment of an offence punishable with not less than 2 years’ imprisonment a Crown Court may, if satisfied that a vehicle was used by the defendant or anyone else for committing the offence, disqualify him for such period as the court thinks fit. A Magistrates’ Court may not exercise this power (Criminal Justice Act, 1972,5.24).

Day Training Centres. The Criminal Justice Act, 1972, provides for Day Training Centres to be established. Four are opened initially at Inner London, Liverpool, Sheffield and Glamorgan. The centres will provide offenders with intensive supervision and social education as a condition of a probation order.

Supervision Order. This may be made by a Court after trying a juvenile or after “care proceedings”. The court may order mat the juvenile be placed under the supervision of a local authority or of a probation officer. The supervision order is similar to a probation order. The supervisor’s general duty is to “advise, assist and befriend” the juvenile.

Notes:

¹ H.M. – Her Majesty

² Penal servitude – каторжні роботи

Task 10. Fill in the table. List different forms of punishment in the UK. Use the information in the text above to complete the chart. First you need identify the most important points to include in the chart. Choose your information carefully.

custodial	semi-custodial	non-custodial

Task 11. Discuss your ideas in pairs & then exchange opinions with the group.

Which forms of punishment would you like to be introduced in our country?

What are the advantages of non-custodial forms of punishment?

Task 12. Study the vocabulary. Check to see if you know the meaning of these words and expressions for discussion. Read & translate the text into Ukrainian.

Wicked, to breed, violence, hijacking, manslaughter, to blame, misguided, defender, poverty, excessive, effortless, to glorify, to pursue, vast, memoirs, hardened, misfit, to cuddle, to cosset, driving ban, community service, probation, desperate, to ponder, vulnerable