THE SOCIOLOGY OF PUNISHMENT AS A THEORETICAL BASIS FOR MODERNIZING STATE CRIMINAL POLICY

Abstract

The problem of criminal punishment extends far beyond the narrow boundaries of penology and criminology, acquiring a broad social significance in the modern era. Traditionally, penal measures have been viewed almost exclusively as technical instruments for crime control and deterrence. However, this purely instrumental approach fails to explain the systemic crises of modern penal systems, such as persistently high recidivism rates and the severe socio-economic consequences of mass incarceration. [1]The core problem lies in the disconnect between the stated legal goals of punishment and its actual functioning as a coercive social mechanism.[2] Therefore, the relevance of this study is dictated by the urgent need to shift state criminal policy from a purely repressive model to a socially integrated one. The main objective of this thesis is to substantiate the role of the sociology of punishment as a conceptual framework for humanizing and rationalizing modern state criminal policy.