1. RELIGIOUS ATTITUDES
TO CRIME AND
PUNISHMENT

2. CAUSES OF CRIME WHY DO WE NEED LAWS? CONSCIENCE
Religious people believe that there conscience is the voice of God, advising them on the right decisions to make. Non-believers think that their conscience is their inner sense of what is right and wrong.
Ian Brady and Myra Hindley, and Robert Thompson and Jon Venables, were all involved in the torture and murder of children.

3. IS THERE SUCH A THING AS A VICTIMLESS CRIME?
TYPES OF CRIME
IS THERE SUCH A THING AS A VICTIMLESS CRIME?
For Christians, you could say that all crimes are sins because they all break some Biblical rule, even if this is a vague as not treating others how they would like to be treated. The same cannot be said of the reverse as not all sins are crimes.
Some people argue that there are certain crimes that are victimless such as prostitution (where both parties are consenting adults) as no innocent parties are hurt as a result.
The argument against this is that this type of behaviour is bad for society as a whole, in relation to prostitution, this type of behaviour undermines the value of personal relationships and could be seen to encourage people to be unfaithful to their partners.
Sins are also called religious offences.
Some sins are also crimes for example, the 10 Commandments orders that people ‘Do not kill’ and ‘Do not steal’ and murder and theft are both crimes.

4. AIMS OF PUNISHMENT Retribution and Reparation Vindication Reform
Deterrent
Protection
To make things even by either repairing the damage (REPARATION) or if this cannot be done, as in the case of murder, to do the same to the offender (RETRIBUTION), in that case kill them
To show that there is a law and that there are punishments for breaking it
Focuses on helping the offender change their life so that they stop committing crime
To put others off committing crime, also to put the offender off from doing it again
To withdraw the criminal so as to keep everyone else safe
GOOD POINTS
Makes people feel better by providing closure
Proves that the law is there to be respected
Can change an offender so that they no longer want to commit crime
Can stop crime before it happens
Keeps society safe
BAD POINTS
In the case of murder, it does not bring the dead person back and only created more death
The law is not always properly and consistently applied, sometimes people receive only a minor punishment for a serious offence
Does not always work
Victims often see it as they have ‘gotten away with it’
Doesn’t always work, people know you can go to prison yet we still have crime
Does not address why the offender committed the crime in the first place
A chance to make friends with other criminals
Christians see this as the most important aim of punishment

5. SHOULD WE PUT OFFENDERS IN PRISON? WHAT WOULD CHRISTIANS SAY?
LIFE IMPRISONMENT
YES NO
This does not always mean that a person will automatically spend the rest of their life in prison. Instead it means that someone spends a significant amount of time in prison and is then released on licence, they can be returned to prison at anytime if they do anything wrong.
Some people believe it is important to offer the possibility of release as otherwise offenders may either give up on life or else may commit other offences whilst in prison as they feel as though they have nothing to lose.
People cannot reoffend if they are locked away so it keeps the rest of society safe.
PROTECTION
Most prisoners reoffend when they are released (70%) which suggests it does not work
Does not address why the person committed the crime in the first place
Puts others in society off committing crime.
DETERRENCE
Gives criminals the chance to think about their actions and option to get help to REFORM
Prisoners learn to be better criminals whilst in prison
Relationships often breakdown while a person is in prison
WHAT WOULD CHRISTIANS SAY?
A prison record makes it difficult to get a job
Christians are not against putting people in prison but they would prefer it to be the last resort. They acknowledge that in the case of serious crimes, eg murder, it can be the most appropriate punishment.
AUTHORITY
In the Bible it says…
BELIEF
This suggests to Christians that…
CONTEXT
Therefore
The story of the ‘Good Samaritan’
They should help anyone, even if they are not the most desirable person to help.
Prison would only be considered good by a Christian if the criminal was being given help whilst there, eg taught skills to help them get a job.
‘It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick’
That it is people in prison who need help the most to find God and live a better life.
Prison would only be considered good by a Christian if the criminal was being given help to live a better life, eg help to control anger if they are there for a violent crime.

6. SHOULD PRISONERS HAVE THE CHANCE OF PAROLE? WHAT WOULD CHRISTIANS SAY?
Parole is when an offender has served more than half of their sentence and is released early for good behaviour. They are monitored by a parole officer until the end of their sentence.
Early release is when someone is let out early and is completely free upon release.
If prisoners did not have the chance of parole they may go on to commit more crimes in prison (eg assault or murder) because they feel as though they have nothing to lose.
People like Ian Brady and Myra Hindley have committed crimes that were so evil, they don’t ever deserve to be released.
Sometimes it can make victims and their families feel as though the criminal as ‘gotten off easy’ for their crime. NO
YES
Israel, Nicky Cruz’s best friend, served time in prison and after being released early, became a Christian.
Everyone one of us makes mistakes so we should be willing to give people a second chance once they have shown they are sorry and tried to put things right.
Myra Hindley and Ian Brady were convicted of the torture and murder of 5 children. There crimes were so horrific that they were told they would never be paroled, Hindley died in prison in 2002, Brady is still in custody.
WHAT WOULD CHRISTIANS SAY?
AUTHORITY
In the Bible it says…
BELIEF
This suggests to Christians that…
CONTEXT
Therefore
‘Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us’
If we want to be forgiven , we should be prepared to forgive others.
Christians would approve of parole for prisoners who are sorry for what they have done and have made an effort to change as they are taught to give people a second chance if they themselves expect to be given one. For example, if someone had been in prison for drug offences but had attended rehab classes and not used drugs whilst they had been in prison, Christians would support them being paroled.
The Woman in Adultery
Everyone has made mistakes in their lives so we should not judge each other too harshly.
Christians would approve of parole for prisoners who were sorry for what they had done and had made an effort to change as everyone has made mistakes so we should be willing to give them a chance to show that they have changed. For example, if someone was in prison for violent crime but had successfully attended anger management classes to help them, Christians would approve of them being paroled.

7. WHAT WOULD CHRISTIANS SAY?
ALTERNATIVES
TO PRISON
These would only be an option for offenders who have committed crimes for which they could to prison for months rather than years – they would not be considered for serious crimes such as murder.
Name
What is it?
Strengths
Weaknesses
Community Service
Unpaid work done in the community, eg cleaning up parks and helping in homes for the elderly
All of these allow an offender to keep their job, their home and not be separated from their partners and families – research shows that these are all things that help someone not reoffend.
An offender will not be forced to live with other criminals whom they may learn new things from.
Cheaper than prison.
Offenders can give something back to the people that they hurt
Some people see it as they have been let off
Electronic Tagging
An offender wears a device that tells a central computer where they are. Offenders usually have to be home between certain times and, in the case of sex offenders, are not allowed near parks and schools.
Less likely to reoffend afterwards
People could still commit crime whilst wearing one
Fines
A fixed sum of money paid to the courts, usually for minor offences such as speeding or being drunk and disorderly
Raises rather than costs money
Not harsh enough to put people off
Probation
When someone is monitored and given help to change their behaviour. They have to meet with a parole officer to show that they are behaving.
People can get the help they need to change
AUTHORITY
In the Bible it says…
BELIEF
This suggests to Christians that…
CONTEXT
Therefore
The story of the ‘Good Samaritan’
They should help anyone, even if they are not the most desirable person to help.
Christians would support alternatives to prison where possible because they are more successful in helping a criminal not reoffend and get their life back on track.
The story of the ‘Woman in Adultery’
Everyone has made mistakes in the lives so we should not judge each other too harshly.
Christians would support alternatives to prison, as they can often be a more fitting punishment for the crime committed, eg petty theft or vanadlism.
WHAT WOULD CHRISTIANS SAY?

8. YOUNG OFFENDERS WHY MIGHT A YOUNG PERSON BREAK THE LAW?
A person under 18 who has broken the law
The age of criminal responsibility is 10, before this a child is not deemed capable of fully understanding the difference between right and wrong.
WHY MIGHT A YOUNG PERSON BREAK THE LAW?
SHOULD YOUNG OFFENDERS BE LOCKED UP?
Boredom
Peer pressure
Lack of money
Rebellion
Have been brought to break the law
Not thinking about the consequences of their actions
YES NO
Society has the right to be kept safe from them
The best place for them to be is with their family
They need to learn that there are consequences if you break the law
Should be more forgiving of them making mistakes as they are young
Young people convicted of crimes may be tagged, given community service or a custodial sentence in either a secure children’s home, secure taining centre or young offenders institution.
The punishment given to a young offender depend on the seriousness of their crime and their age.
AIMS OF PUNISHMENT LINK – The general consensus is that the main aim of punishing young offenders should be to reform them.
WHAT WOULD CHRISTIANS SAY?
AUTHORITY
In the Bible it says…
BELIEF
This suggests to Christians that…
CONTEXT
Therefore
The story of the ‘Good Samaritan’
They should help people in need, even if they are not the most desirable people to help
They would want to help young offenders because of their age and lack of life experience, they would consider them to be vulnerable and therefore in need of help. They would consider locking them up if they had committed a serious crime, eg murder and were going to receive help in custody.
The story of the ‘Woman in Adultery’
Everyone has made mistakes in their life
They would be sympathetic to young offenders as they should remember that they themselves made mistakes growing up. They may consider locking them up if they were constantly committing crimes and they were going to be given help in custody.

9. SHOULD WE HAVE CAPITAL PUNISHMENT? WHAT WOULD CHRISTIANS SAY?
YES
SHOULD WE HAVE CAPITAL PUNISHMENT? NO
When a person is executed for a crime that they have committed
The criminal cannot hurt anyone else
Some crimes are so evil that this is the only fitting punishment
Puts people off committing serious crimes
Makes us just as bad as the murderers
Innocent people have been wrongly executed
Countries with the death penalty still have serious crimes
Retribution
Makes things even in the case of murder – a life for a life
Reparation
In the case of murder, it cannot bring back the victim but it may make their family feel better
Vindication
Shows that there is a serious punishment for serious crimes
Deterrence
Scares people into not wanting to commit serious crimes
Protection
The criminal cannot hurt anyone else so the rest of society will be safe from them
Reform
Goes completely against this as there is not attempt to help the offender to change
Timothy Evans was wrongly executed for the murder of his baby daughter, it later turned out that the murder had been committed by Evan’s neighbour, John Christie
WHAT WOULD CHRISTIANS SAY?
YES NO
In the Bible it says ‘Take and eye for an eye’. This suggests that if someone does something then they deserve to have the same done back to them.
Therefore in the case of murder, some would agree with capital punishment because they have taken a life and so deserve to lose theirs.
In the Bible it says ‘Do not kill’.
This suggests that taking life is wrong.
Therefore some Christians would disagree with capital punishment because it is the taking away of a life which is against God’s rules.
In the Bible it says ‘Love your enemies’.
This suggests that we should love and understand to people who have hurt us.
Therefore capital punishment is wrong because it is showing hate to those who have hurt us, which is not what God wants.

10. CHRISTIAN TEACHINGS ABOUT CRIME AND PUNISHMENT
THE LAW
Christians believe that the law is there to be respected and that there should be punishments if it is broken.
These punishments should not be overly harsh and should focus on helping the offender REFORM.
They believe that both the rules of the laws of the country and the rules in the Bible are important to obey.
CHRISTIAN TEACHINGS ABOUT
CRIME AND PUNISHMENT
REPENTANCE
This is when someone is truly sorry for what they have done and tries their best not to do it again. When someone repents, Christians believe that they should be forgiven. They do not think forgiveness should replace punishment, rather it should be something that happens after a person has been fairly punished.
PRISON REFORM
The ‘Prison Reform’ movement is an organisation that works towards improving conditions and opportunities in prisons. They are concerned with making sure that prisoners are treated fairly in prison and given access to education and help to change.
Many Christians volunteer as prison chaplins and go into prisons to give prisoners spiritual support and teach them about the Christian way of life in the hope this will help them stay away from crime when they are released.
The Story of the Good Samaritan
This suggests that you should help people, even if they are not the most desirable people to help. Therefore Christians believe that they should help offenders to change their ways and in some cases they accept that prison is the best place to do this, so as long as the person is treated decently and given help.
Forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us.
This suggests that Christians think that in order to be forgiven, you have to be willing to forgive others. Therefore Christians think that offenders should be shown forgiveness is they are truly sorry for what they have done.
It is not the healthy who need a doctor but the sick
This suggests that Christians should help those who are most in need and some would say that criminals are those most in need of help. Therefore Christians think that offenders should be shown understanding and given help.
The Story of the Woman in Adultery
This suggests that everyone has made mistakes and so we shouldn’t judge other people too harshly. Therefore we should be willing to forgive people for the crimes if they are truly sorry, as we have all been in a position to need forgiveness.