Theories of Punishment

The purpose of criminal justice and the object of punishment is to reduce crimes in society. There are five theories of punishment in the administration of criminal justice:

• Deterrent Theory: More punishment than the crime, to deter the offender and the common public (e.g., cutting off hands).
• Retributive Theory: Copy the same means — equal punishment to return the wrong to the offender for what he has done to society.
• Reformative Theory: 'Hate the crime, not the criminal' — aims to reform the society to stop crimes.
• Preventive Theory (also called Disability Theory): Prevents society from the wrongdoer by sending him to jail.
• Expiatory Theory (also called Compensatory Theory): The offender pays for the wrong done to society.

Note: Some sources list these as Punitive, Retributive, Deterrence, Reformative, and Compensatory — the number of theories is five.

Probation is a component of the administration of criminal justice, and the procedure of Administration of Criminal Justice is divided into stages including Investigation, Inquiry, and Trial.