Incapacitation (penology)

Incapacitation in the context of criminal sentencing philosophy is one of the functions of punishment. It involves capital punishment, sending an offender to prison, or possibly restricting their freedom in the community, to protect society and prevent that person from committing further crimes. Incarceration, as the primary mechanism for incapacitation, is also used as to try to deter future offending. Incapacitation is used primarily to protect the public from offenders who are seen as sufficiently dangerous that they need to be removed from society for a period of time, which is achieved usually by sending the offender to prison (incarceration). In most countries, prison sentences are applied for a range of different crimes but are almost certain to be applied to those who commit serious assaults, murder or sex crimes. However, the risk that offenders pose to society is largely a matter of perception. As a result, how the justice system in one country treats a particular offence will differ considerably from the level of sanction imposed for the same crime in another country. This means that some countries, like the United States, use incarceration to incapacitate offenders at much higher rates than other countries. Rates of imprisonment vary from over 650 inmates per 100,000 of population in the United States to Guinea Bissau which locks up only 10 people per 100,000. Imprisonment incapacitates prisoners by physically removing them from the society against which they are deemed to have offended or potentially may endanger. Long term imprisonment with the intention to incapacitate is often used by criminal justice systems against habitual criminals who recidivate (relapse). Therefore, incapacitation focuses on removing the ability of the offenders to commit future crimes by use of imprisonment rather than focusing on rehabilitation or prevention. Within the prison system itself, inmate security classifications are used to classify prisoners based on risk level and place them in an environment that will adequately incapacitate them from causing trouble.