Editing Crime (section)

=== Corrections and punishment ===
{{Main|Corrections|Punishment}}
Authorities may respond to crime through corrections, carrying out punishment as a means to [[censure]] the criminal act.{{Sfn|Hoefnagels|1973|p=138}} Punishment is generally reserved for serious offenses. Individuals regularly engage in activity that could be scrutinized under criminal law but are deemed inconsequential.{{Sfn|Hoefnagels|1973|p=133}} [[Retributive justice]] seeks to create a system of [[accountability]] and punish criminals in a way that knowingly causes suffering.{{Sfn|Hoefnagels|1973|pp=17–18}} This may arise out of a feeling that criminals deserve to suffer and that punishment should exist for its own sake. The existence of punishment also creates an effect of [[Deterrence (penology)|deterrence]] that discourages criminal action for fear of punishment.{{Sfn|Ashworth|Horder|2013|p=16}} 

[[Rehabilitation (penology)|Rehabilitation]] seeks to understand and mitigate the causes of a criminal's unlawful action to prevent [[recidivism]].{{Sfn|Lipsey|Landenberger|Chapman|2004|p=211}} Different criminological theories propose different methods of rehabilitation, including strengthening [[Social network|social networks]], reducing [[poverty]], influencing [[Value (ethics and social sciences)|values]], and providing [[therapy]] for physical and mental ailments.{{Sfn|Lipsey|Landenberger|Chapman|2004|pp=212–213}} Rehabilitative programs may include [[counseling]] or [[vocational education]].{{Sfn|Lipsey|Landenberger|Chapman|2004|p=215}}

Developed nations are less likely to use physical punishments. Instead, they will impose financial penalties or imprisonment.{{sfn|Roth|2014|p=11}} In places with widespread corruption or limited [[rule of law]], crime may be punished extralegally through [[mob rule]] and [[lynching]].{{sfn|Roth|2014|p=24}}

Whether a crime can be resolved through financial compensation varies depending on the culture and the specific context of the crime. Historically, many societies have absolved acts of homicide through compensation to the victim's relatives.{{sfn|Roth|2014|p=23}}