(a) Purposes of Sentencing. The primary purposes of sentencing a person convicted of a crime are:

(1) To punish an offender commensurate with the nature and extent of the harm caused by the offense, taking into account factors that may diminish or increase an offender's culpability;

(2) To protect the public by restraining offenders;

(3) To provide restitution or restoration to victims of crime to the extent possible and appropriate;

(4) To assist the offender toward rehabilitation and restoration to the community as a lawful citizen; and

(5) To deter criminal behavior and foster respect for the law.

(b) Purpose of Sentencing Standards.

(1) Though voluntary, the purpose of establishing rational and consistent sentencing standards is to seek to ensure that sanctions imposed following conviction are proportional to the seriousness of the offense of conviction and the extent of the offender's criminal history.

(2) The standards seek to ensure equitable sanctions which provide that offenders similar with respect to relevant sentencing criteria will receive similar sanctions and offenders substantially different with respect to relevant sentencing criteria will receive different sanctions.

(3) Sentencing criteria should be neutral with respect to race, gender, social, and economic status.

(c) Appropriate Use of Sentencing Sanctions.

(1) Rational and consistent sentencing policy requires a continuum of sanctions which increases in direct proportion to the seriousness of the offense and the extent of the offender's criminal history.

(2) Commitment to the Department of Correction is the most severe sanction and due to the finite capacity of the department's facilities, it should be reserved for those convicted of the most serious offenses, those who have longer criminal histories, and those who have repeatedly failed to comply with conditions imposed under less restrictive sanctions.

(3) Arkansas law provides for significant intermediate penal sanctions in the community which should be utilized when appropriate.

(4) Restrictions on an offender's liberty should only be as restrictive as necessary to fulfill the purposes of sentencing contained in this policy.