Quick questions on Sanctions: purposes, types and effectiveness: VCE Legal Studies

Section 5(1) of the Sentencing Act 1991 (Vic) enumerates the purposes for which sentences may be imposed:

The court selects and shapes a sanction to pursue the purposes most relevant to the offence and the offender. A long term of imprisonment emphasises just punishment, denunciation and community protection; a CCO with treatment and supervision emphasises rehabilitation while still carrying a deterrent and punitive element; a fine emphasises just punishment and general deterrence for less serious or financially motivated offending; an adjourned undertaking emphasises rehabilitation for low-level, often first-time, offending. Most sanctions pursue several purposes at once, and the s 5(2) factors (gravity, culpability, victim impact, prior character) guide which purposes dominate. A strong answer explains which purpose a chosen sanction best serves and why.

Reasonably effective. Standard sentences anchor proportionality.

Mixed. The Sentencing Advisory Council Victoria's research, including the 2011 report on the deterrent effect of sentencing, found that the certainty of conviction is more deterrent than severity.

Limited. The Productivity Commission Report on Government Services 2024 reported the 2-year return-to-prison rate for adults released from Victorian prisons at around 44 percent. CCOs deliver better rehabilitation outcomes for low-risk offenders.

Effective while the sentence is served, but undermined by recidivism.