Historical Shifts in Discourses and Practices Associated with Punishment - Essay Example

Running Head: OUTLINE HISTORICAL SHIFTS IN DISCOURSES AND PRACTICES ASSOCIATED WITH PUNISHMENT Your institution Your name Course name Course instructor March 21, 2009 Outline Introduction changes in the crime punishment in Australia-abolishment of capital punishment, private policing, new crime forms Future prediction on criminology and related issues is uncertain as it has historically been Studies on crime and criminology and reporting Media bias on reporting and research Failure of the related research in criminology History on criminology, punishment and changes Reporting can influence our understanding of the social history and influence perception on crime and its control Capital punishment and its abolishment The Crimes (Death Penalty Abolition) Amendment Act of 1885 dealt with residues of capital punishment Political elections and crime handling, and influence of politics on sentencing decisions Conclusion Improving reporting and recording of crime and sentencing decisions Elimination of capital punishment Historical shifts in policing-private policing Introduction There have been improvements in the ways convicts have been punished in Australian history. There was practiced capital punishment which was abolished by individual states between 1922 and 1984 in legislation. Other methods of punishment passed to convicts in the Australian history include flogging. Forms of policing have diversified in history have been revisited, for example private policing practiced during industrialization. The same case refers to the methods and ideas of crime and criminology, which have been revisited, recycled, modified and adjusted in the history. There have been claims that modern forms of crime like piracy are improved forms of historical robbery, but this form may still be around. Technology and informational systems like the internet have made crime easy and widespread, and at the same time, easier to deal with and counteract. Prediction of the future on criminology is not certain as history has been. Studies on crime and criminology and reporting Studies on crime and criminology are important in determining the crime trend and measures to be applied in dealing with crime. The daily focus on the incidences of crime by media reports cannot be trusted. This is because media has been known to exaggerate matters for their own gain, and mostly do not reflect on positive issues when it comes to reporting crime. There is need therefore to rely on statistical evidence on crime and trends. Reports on change in the number of homicide and murder cases before and after abolishment of capital punishment are controversial. Although reported cases of homicide have increased for the last twenty years preceding 1990s, the overall trend is that it has fallen because it rose more slowly than the population. Media focus and crime reporting by media has had a history of a rhetorical appearance that crime is at an increasing, whereas research may indicate otherwise. But others like author and retired judge of New South Wales Supreme Court, Athor Moffit in his book A Quarter to Midnight (1985), and Frank Costigan, a former royal commissioner looking into the Federated Ship Painters and Dockers Union have expressed related view or picture. The latter argued in 1994 that the country would become a jungle if no radical changes in the organization of the criminal justice system. Empirical research has been faced with challenges such as statistics not being a reliable measure of crime trends and patterns. The statistical data have been blamed as not indicating enormous behavioral diversity within their own categories and what seems to be a concise, clear and dramatic summation of such data “take precedence over any close interrogation of what is reflected in this data” (Brown & Hogg, 1996). Brown and Hogg have argued that changes are an effect in shifts in reporting and recording behavior, and that the data used to make claims about criminal behavior trends is hazardous. Clearly, there is need for improved recording and reporting not only on the incidences of crime, but also on the decisions of sentencing and crime occurrence. Modern methods are essential in such reporting. The North South Wales has a Judicial Commission established by the Judicial Officers Act 1986, which is mandated to monitor, collect and disseminate sentencing information. The commission uses a computerized series of databases which can reflect on the sentencing practice, known as a Sentencing Information System (SIS). Such a move, if widely employed can provide reliable statistics that is essential for criminal analysis and studies. History on criminology, punishment and changes The study of history of criminology is important to identify, analyze and improve the methods that have been used to respond to crime in the past. This is because the historic response to crime through social, administrative, and statistical changes the perspective we have on crime and some, for example altering statistics to rationalize procedures or as a result of different ways of pursuing certain offences may influence our understanding of the social history of the past according to Carrabine (2004). Conviction of crime and punishment of offenders has not remained the same as it was in the past with the continued understanding of what constitutes crime, different types of crimes, and how best they can be punished. It would therefore be expected that crime would be more severely punished in the past or historic Australia than it is today. Fremantle Prison was the place where criminals underwent solitary confinement, capital punishment and incarceration in the past. Capital punishment, which the Collins dictionary gives meaning as the punishment of death for a crime or the death penalty, was practiced in some places like Canning River, Fremantle, York and Perth in terms of legal execution of criminal convicts in the early days of settlement in Western Australia between 1829 and 1855. Capital punishment used to mean forms of death by decapitation (for example hanging, electrocution, lethal injection and firing squad) but in modern times it is generally applied for state sanctioned executions. The decapitation methods are still being applied in some countries in the Middle East (Bedau, 1982). About 80 persons who had committed offenses like forgery, sexual assaults, sheep stealing, and burglary were executed through hanging in the nineteenth century. In Australia, The number of criminals legally executed in Australia since Federal (1901) was 114, coinciding with those who underwent through a similar treatment in South Africa in 1984 (Sydney Morning Herald, 1 March 1985; qtd. in Ivan and Walker, 1987). Sometimes, criminals were hanged at the spot of crime. Perth Gaol which was opened in 1856 to 1888 had a major of legal execution through hanging in the State. A gallows that was built in 1888 in Fremantle Prison (renamed in 1867 from Convict Establishment at Fremantle Prison) became the only place for legal execution in the Western Australia in between 1888 and 1984. Generally, Australia has abolished capital punishment (for example 1955 is given as the day of abolishing capital punishment in the state of New South Wales), leaving the most severe punishment in the country as the life imprisonment referred to as ‘penal servitude for life’. The last state to abolish the capital punishment is said to be Western Australia. The last man to be executed through hanging was Ronald Ryan at Pentridge prison in 1820. However, the abolishment of this punishment did not occur immediately but gradually since 1829. According to the figures provided by the Mukhenjee et al. (1985) shows that the number of those executed in 1820 was 360 as compared to 55 in 1909 and 6 in between 1960 and 1969. The first state to abolish capital punishment was Queensland in 1922, followed by North South Wales in 1955, Victoria in 1975, South Australian in 1976, Northern Territory in 1973 as well as ACT and the last state was Western Australia in 1984. The passing of the Crimes (Death Penalty Abolition) Amendment Act of 1885 was significant because it led to sweeping away of residuals relating to treason and piracy which were retained in North South Wales and carried the death penalty even after the abolishment date in this state. However, debate on capital punishment has been raised whenever serious crimes-mostly murder of prison or police officers, wanton terrorist acts and sex-murder case- and reintroduction debated. One such incidence was in 1986 when the Police Federation of Australia voted unanimously to press the Federal Governments to hold a referendum on reintroduction of the punishment. Through opinion polls, citizens have expressed support to capital punishment. For example, polls carried out by the Australian National Public Opinion Polls or Morgan Gallup indicate a range of 70% support of capital punishment for the offense related to crimes like gang war murder, rape murder, or child murder, to 43%. Life imprisonment as an alternative to capital punishment was supported by almost an equal number. In a survey commissioned by the Australian Institute of Criminology, 17% of respondents favored capital punishment on convictions of serious drug trafficking, while 26% expressed support for it, on those who stab others to death (Ivan & Walker, 1987). The ‘natural life imprisonment’ and the ‘natural life’ imprisonment were introduced in the Sentencing Act promised in the North South Wales election in 1988 by the Coalition. In addition, remissions were to be abolished through this legislation, use of habitual criminal legislation against recidivists, and the lifting maximum penalties for some offenses were also realized. Despite the regulation, prison population rapidly rose and reached 60% in 1988. Other incidences that experienced after the regulation was increased sentence lengths and the government denied through Prisons Minister Michael Yabsley that it was its intention to increase the sentence lengths (Hansard, 1989), deteriorated prison conditions, and rise in the levels of prison violence. The Prisons Minister is said to have indicated support for sexual assault and violence against inmates by saying that rape in prison was almost inevitable and that it could be a useful ‘deterrent factor’ to the people who are thinking of offending (Brown & Hogg, 1996). The public was concerned about crime before the election of 1995, and the previous Labor Opposition leader and then North South Wales Premier Bob Carr to respond. The leader missed on important issue on addressing on the causes of the problem. Punitive penal policies used to deal with crime may not be as effective as may be thought by populists. For example, little evidence exists that rising levels and rates of imprisonment cannot alone lower the crime levels according to Brown & Hogg (1996). The influence of politics on the capital punishment decision may have existed in the history of crime punishment in Australia. For example, ABC in their documentary, The Last Man Hanged argues that the hanging of Ronald Ryan (i.e. the choice of him for execution)-the last man hanged in 1820 was so as to enhance Henry Bolte’s election chances. During the end of the last century, the Australian policing, nature of justice and the way it was understood by Australian was termed by Reynolds and Wilson (1996) as changing. This was in terms of increasing in the number of private security providers and companies and the privatization of policing functions in Australia. Private policing is where the services of policing are carried out by officers for commercial purposes. An agreement to the ideas posed in the Brown and Hogg (1996) that past forms of criminology and crime control are recycled can be perceived with the increase in private security, a practice that was also experienced during industrialization. For example, Robert Smith predicted a ratio of 10:1 for private agent license holders to police by the year 2000, according to the aforementioned authors. Australia had about 60000-80000 private security personnel nationwide in around 1996 (Wilson, 1994). Private police are more bound to similar laws as anyone else and do not carry the self imposed authority and power as those in uniform and carrying guns. The latter may tend to misuse and exploit situation and consider themselves and their employees above the law. The shift to private policing would signify a number of things pointing out to a deteriorated security situation, for example, distrust of the public towards public means of dealing with crime, increased publicity to crime by the media for focusing on the incidences of insecurity and giving false information of the situation among other issues. Definition and restriction of terms of the functions of private policing in a time when its usage was rising, was not satisfactory at the latter years of the last century. The increase of private security was as a result of demand for security against potential crime in Australia, for example by local businesses and other people. Again, this can point to a general perception of the masses this time round; that there was increasing perception of rise in crime in Australia. The description of the functions of the private police was in reference to the functions of private policing in the recent past according to Carrabine. Applications of private security may include crowd control in schools, sporting events, religious gathering, and community gatherings, in addition to protection of property. The functions may be carried ether by single person or community groups either on a commercial or voluntary basis. Demand for private policing has been influenced not only by change in the crime rates and fear of crime in Australia, but the following social political and economic reasons may have also influenced or contributed to the situation. Shift in the society from industrial to information-based, where an estimated 60% of the Australians were predicted to working in the informational sector by the year 2000. Traditional methods of policing would not cope with crime activity in the informational systems like electronic banking. Demographic changes in Australian society as a result of the post-war “baby boom”, in the increase of the unemployed youths (15-21 years) created favorable environment for crime increase. Increased private property, for example housing estates and shopping complexes increased the need for constant surveillance to help keep shoppers, workers and residents safe. Development of more areas in need for policing led to increase in demand for this opportunity. The raising industrial and corporate crime as a result of rise in communication technology, and sophistication require that companies’ offer specialized training on dealing with security issues. Another area of shift reported in the history of Australia security and its focus is the specialization of the Australian police. This move has encouraged or increased civilianization of the police officers to perform community-based activities such as typing and driving which may be done without undergoing police training, and delineation between the activities of the public sector police and with the growth of activities like passenger control and immigration services. Un-uniformed police officers have focused on more specialized nature of policing as compared to the traditional policing nature. Focus on sentencing decisions and call for a reform has occurred in Australian history. Factors affecting or that could affect changes in the sentencing decisions in Australia include the role of reforms in the legislation and the courts themselves. Yet there is evidence that individual influence on passing sentence, which may not be covered in the law, exists. The Issue on the focusing of aboriginality as opposed to other ethnic groups has been discussed. Although the Australia Law Reform Commission proposed that there should be no consideration of gender during the making of sentencing decisions, there has been evidence that women are favored in the sentencing compared to men. Prediction of having radically different methods and trends of crime and control and future criminology for future purposes is indeed difficult. It can be shown that for the last century that there have been revisiting, recycling, combining, reinventing and renaming of past and old ideas and perspectives of themes and traditions (Carrabine, 2004). The influence of the global trend towards criminology and criminal control has influenced Australian criminology and counter mechanisms. According to Carrabine, there is evidence that those global crimes of the past are still with us and will be, as changing but continuing crimes. For example, the world has experienced some violations of human rights to counteract incidences termed as terrorism like the September 11. In addition, criminological shifts occurring through the new distribution channels such as the internet aiding trafficking of drugs and pornography, and modern forms of slavery where the poor can pay more to be smuggled across borders. Forms of robbery like piracy are turning to viable business opportunities (Raja 2003; qtd. in Carrabine). Conclusion Reporting media generally focus on criminal incidences and ignore correct data and positive reporting. There is need to improve methods of reporting and recording both on criminal occurrence and sentencing decisions. For example, there is in place the Sentencing Information System in the North South Wales which can improve analysis, reporting and study on the sentencing guide and the practice. The number of those convicted for capital punishment had generally decreased, and the punishment has been abolished in Australia, with the last state carrying such legislation in 1984. There have been shifts in the way policing, as a body or entity mandated to deal with crime, has carried out its operations. This include revisiting of historical form of policing-private policing-and use of improved systems to deal with crime. There has been a revisiting of previous techniques and historical ideas used in dealing with crime and general criminology. In addition, modern forms of crime such as internet-based drug trafficking and pornography distribution have required specialized focus for control and this has led to need for transformation. Future prediction on the crime and the ideas in criminology is unpredictable as history has been. Historical shifts in crime and control may also be influenced by the external forces and focus. For example, there seems to be an increased general call to more focus on terrorism after September 11. Other factors that have generally altered the crime control and the levels of crime include technological innovations like the coming of the internet and piracy. References and bibliography Bedau, Hugo Adam (ed). (1982). The Death Penalty in America, 3rd edition, Oxford University Press, New York, 14 Brown, D. & Hogg, R. (1996). ‘Contemporary Comment: Law and Order Commonsense’ Current Issues in Criminal Justice. Vol. 8. no. 2. 1996. pp. 175-191 Carrabine et al. (2004). Criminology: A Sociological Introduction. Routledge, London. Chapter 10 Corrected Data from Potas, I. (1982). Just Deserts for the Mad. Australian Institute of Criminology, Canberra, 65 Crime in the United States. (1984). Federal Bureau of Investigation, Government Printing Office, Washington DC Ivan Potas & John Walker. (February 1987). Capital punishment. Trends & Issues in Crime and Criminal Justice. Australian Institute of Criminology, Australia Johnstone, Stanley, W. (1962). Criminal Homicide Rates in Australia. Howard League for Penal Reform, Victoria Wilson. P.R. (1994). The Australian Private Security Industry: The need for Accountability, Regulation and Professionalism. Private Sector and Community Involvement in Criminal Justice System. Australian Institute of Criminology, Canberra. Pp. 160 Wallace, Alison (1986). Homicide: The Social Reality. New South Wales Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research, Sydney, 93 Zdenkowski G. (1984). Contemporary Sentencing Issues. The Australian Criminal Justice System: the mid 1990s. (Eds). Chappell Duncan, Paul Wilson. (4th Ed.). Sydney: Butterworths, 1994 (i.e. 1993) pp. 176-191 Read More