10.5: Dealing with offending behaviour

Question 1

Oli is in prison for violent and aggressive behaviour. He becomes angry very quickly and gets frustrated easily. He often feels threatened when he is near other people.
Explain how an anger management therapist might help Oli using anger management (4 marks)

Answer 1

Possible content/application
• Cognitive appraisal - the therapist would help Oli to explore what it is that triggers his anger, why
other people make him feel threatened, why he feels frustrated.
• Skills acquisition- the therapist would teach Oli calming strategies that he can use when he feels
angry, frustrated or when he feels threatened by other people.
• Examples of suitable calming strategies Oli could use would be: mantra when he feels threatened;
breathing exercises when he is near other people; positive self-talk eg ‘people are not going to
harm me’, ‘people are usually kind’ etc.
• Application practice - the therapist would act out role-play situations with Oli so he can practise his
calming exercises in a situation that would normally make him frustrated and angry eg therapist
might act out the role of a person pushing against Oli in a queue

Question 2

Statistics show that the rate of recidivism in the UK is high, suggesting prison does not work.
Using your knowledge of the reasons behind recidivism, explain why criminals reoffend (4 marks)

Answer 2

Recidivism concerns reoffending levels after judicial punishment.
Recidivism can be high, because prisoners become institutionalised and cannot exist outside the highly
regulated prison system, so they reoffend in order to return to the prison system

Question 3

Statistics show that the rate of recidivism in the UK is high, suggesting prison does not work.
Using your knowledge of the reasons behind recidivism, explain why criminals reoffend (4 marks).
Recidivism concerns reoffending levels after judicial punishment.
Recidivism can be high, because prisoners become institutionalised and cannot exist outside the highly
regulated prison system, so they reoffend in order to return to the prison system.

Answer 3

Reoffending can also occur due to a prison setting leading an individual to have increased mental health and addiction problems that cause them to reoffend due to
not being able to cope in open society

Question 4

Briefly outline and evaluate the effectiveness of anger management in treating offenders (4 marks)

Answer 4

Anger management is a cognitive intervention that aims to control the anger levels of offenders.
During the intervention, offenders learn and practise skills to control angry impulses.
Anger management involves cognitive preparation, skill acquisition and application training

Question 5

Briefly outline and evaluate the effectiveness of anger management in treating offenders (4 marks).
Anger management is a cognitive intervention that aims to control the anger levels of offenders.
During the intervention, offenders learn and practise skills to control angry impulses.
Anger management involves cognitive preparation, skill acquisition and application training.

Answer 5

Research shows anger management to be very effective, which gives support to the principles on which it is based.
Research also indicates, however, that anger
management programmes that are individually tailored to an offender’s needs are more effective than generalised programmes given to all offenders