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Essentials of An Ideal Penal System - A Rational Penal Policy Should Aim at Protecting The Society - Studocu

An ideal penal system should prioritize crime prevention, ensure timely punishment, and maintain proportionality in penalties according to the severity of the offense. It must focus on the reformation of criminals while avoiding the glamorization of offenders, and should classify criminals to tailor punishments effectively. Modern penologists largely oppose capital punishment for humanitarian reasons.

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Nikitha Paramasivam
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102 views1 page

Essentials of An Ideal Penal System - A Rational Penal Policy Should Aim at Protecting The Society - Studocu

An ideal penal system should prioritize crime prevention, ensure timely punishment, and maintain proportionality in penalties according to the severity of the offense. It must focus on the reformation of criminals while avoiding the glamorization of offenders, and should classify criminals to tailor punishments effectively. Modern penologists largely oppose capital punishment for humanitarian reasons.

Uploaded by

Nikitha Paramasivam
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Essentials of an Ideal Penal System


An ideal penal system must, essentially, include the following characteristics:

1. A rational penal policy should aim at protecting the society from crimes and reclaim
criminals by removing imperfections in the penal law of the country. Greater emphasis
should be on prevention rather than cure.

2. Bentham, well known English law reformer, commented that penal policy must be in
conformity with the utilitarian doctrine of pleasure and pain: punishment to be effective
should be proportionate to the gravity of the offence.

3. Elimination of delay in awarding punishment is, perhaps, the most fundamental


requirement of an ideal penal programme. Inordinate delay causes loss of faith in justice
delivery system.

4. Penal actions act as a threat to the aggressor thereby refraining him from committing
such forbidden acts of violence. As Beccaria puts it, the purpose of punishment is 'to
make crime an ill bargain for the offender'.

5. Experience has shown that the principle of equal punishment for similar offences does
not prove effective for all types of criminals. It is for this reason that classification of
criminals into different categories is deemed necessary.

6. It is significant to note that efficacy of punishment essentially depends on the proper


functioning of agencies which administer criminal justice. Disproportionate and unduly
harsh punishment shall make the members of community feel that their life is not safe
and insecure in the hands of administrators.

7. Reformation of criminals should be the object of punishment. The punishment to be


efficacious must include the combination of deterrence, prevention and reformation.

8. While appreciating the need for reformative approach towards criminals, a word of
caution seems necessary. With all the comforts to inmates in prisons, the inmates often
take the institutions as an easy resort to, spend their life comfortably without shouldering
any responsibilities. This obviously effects the very object of reformation.

9. The authorities should refrain from projecting the image of the offenders as ‘big shot’.
The reward so often announced by the govt. on the heads of notorious dacoits, murderers
and criminals seem to undermine the aspect of penal policy, e.g. Poolan Devi story is
picturised as 'Bandit queen' and Veerappan as 'Sandal wood jungle dacoit'.

10. Most of the modern penologists are opposed to retention of capital punishment on
humanitarian grounds. 'Despite growing disinclination for awarding death penalty, there

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