main idea? In the context of criminal law, punishment might be communicated in a formal conviction of guilt or through a system of harsh punishments such as imprisonment, fines, or community service. Prison is seen as offering an opportunity for reflection and reformation (Brooks 2012: 104). Duff argues that the aim of hard treatment is ideally to cause offenders to understand and repent crimes committed (1999: 51). It should attempt to direct their attention to the crime and give them an understanding of crime as a "wrong." It must be painful or a burden to the offender and should take some time to accomplish. Offenders should also accept that punishment is deserved, and penancenot merely an apologyis expected of the offender. By undergoing hard punishment, offenders can become reconciled with the community and restored back into the community from which the offense caused them to be excluded. Thus, "time served is a concrete act communicating apologies through repentance