Suggest how the 5 goals of sentencing should work together in the modern society

Retribution is a call for punishment upon a perpetrator based on a felt need for vengeance.
Incapacitation seeks to protect innocent members of society from offenders who might do them harm.
Deterrence uses punishment to convince people that criminal activity is not worthwhile.
Rehabilitation seeks to bring about fundamental changes in offenders and their behaviour.
Restoration is a sentencing goal that seeks to address this damage by making the victim and the community ‘whole’ again.

These 5 goals of sentencing form the basis of which different judges around the world decide on a suitable sentence for their individual cases. This is because, although each crime has it’s own degree of severity, all 5 sentencing goals can be applied.

Take for example, theft cases. These cases are very common and many are reported everyday. Both adults and youths commit this crime. Retribution would most probably be imprisonment in cells and homes respectively. Incapacitation is more specific about the imprisonment sentence. Some first time offenders might have curfews imposed on them instead of sending them straight to jail Deterrence depends on the age of the criminal. If it is a juvenile delinquent that committed the offence, both Specific and General deterrence could be practiced. He or she could be remorseful and learn from this experience and people in her age group are more aware of the consequences of such unlawful actions. Rehabilitation may include counselling. Restoration can help this people fit into society again like helping the offenders to find a job despite their criminal history.


Extreme cases like murder would of course be handled differently and much more seriously. The death penalty would be a considered by the judge handling this case. The rest would be somewhat similar to the above if the offender manages to escape the death penalty.

As such, it can be seen that the 5 goals of sentencing are linked and are currently reached. The only major difference between the different countries would be the use of capital punishment. Singapore and The US would be a very good contrast. This difference is important as it decides how the rest of the goals regarding this case are sort out. If the offender were to suffer the death penalty, then goals no. 4 and 5 would be unneeded.

The 5 goals are important in modern day society because they act as ‘checks’ on one another. A choice regarding the sentencing would lead to different rehabilitation and restoration methods. Also whether either specific or general deterrence if not both could be met.

With this 5 goals, I hope crime rates would decrease around the world because these 5 goals not only consists of proper punishment it also encompasses hope. Hope for the offenders, as they know that there is still help available in building their lives back up again. Hence, they in turn do not commit crime again. People around can also learn and see that it’s not worth it to commit crime and get into problems with the law.