sentencing and intervention

Question 1

what are examples of sentencing?

Answer 1

Prison (then on licence in community)

Suspended sentence (up to two years)

Community sentence (unpaid work, treatment)

Fines (equal to seriousness and personal finances)

Absolute/conditional discharge

Question 2

what is the purpose of sentencing?

Answer 2

Retribution / just deserts
Incapacitation
Deterrence
Rehabilitation
Restoration / Reparation

Question 3

what were the Sentencing Attitudes from the Ministry of Justice Analytical Series (2013)?

Answer 3

majority say too lenient (38%, 09/10)

only 1% said much too tough

24% said about right

Question 4

what are the imitations of the Ministry of Justice Analytical Series (2013)?

Answer 4

self-selected sample of people interested in sentencing in England and Wales

when responding, people may think of the worst crimes and offenders

a survey does not allow people sufficient time to consider the “evidence” on the question – they may respond based on media stories of sentencing which tend to be unrepresentative

Question 5

what’s the prison population in England and Wales?

Answer 5

79% increase since 1993

Prison population 1993 = 44,246
Prison population 2021 = 79,092

England and Wales has the highest population in custody in Western Europe!

Question 6

The effect of sentencing policy on reoffending

Answer 6

White’s (2017) review:
Custodial sentences do not reduce recidivism any more than non-custodial approaches

Custodial sentences have higher financial costs for society, and higher social and economic costs for prisoners and their families

Less than one-quarter (23%) of prisoners attend education classes
Very few prisoners (5-7%) attend offending behaviour courses

Question 7

what were the Re-offence rates within 12 months of release (MoJ, 2021)?

Answer 7

41. 6% of all prison leavers*
42. 9% of those serving short (<12m) prison sentences
43. 2% of under 18s

= The revolving door

Question 8

what are the types of intervention?

Answer 8

Boot camps
A highly structured, often militaristic, regimen focussing on discipline

Counselling
Client-centred therapy focussed on increasing self-understanding

Cognitive-behavioural therapy
Learning new coping skills to change unhelpful patterns of thinking

Teaching family homes
Professionals act as proxy parents to residents to teach them self-management skills, provide counselling and advocacy.

Therapeutic communities
‘Permissiveness, reality-confrontation, democracy and communalism’ (Rapoport, 1960)

Restorative justice
Repairing harm by bringing those harmed and those responsible for this into communication

Question 9

what’s the level of hierarchy evidence?

Answer 9

Top to bottom:

Systematic reviews
Randomised Controlled Trials
Cohort studies
Case-control studies
Case series, Case Reports
Editorials, Expert opinion

Question 10

What’s Maryland scientific methods scale?

Answer 10

1. Cross-sectional correlation (before/after comparisons without untreated comparison group).
2. Non comparable comparison group (programme completes vs drop-outs)
3. Two-group designs (one receiving the programme) (programme A vs B)
4. Controlled two-group design (A vs B, where the populations and contexts are similar, and baseline differences are controlled)
5. Random assignment and analysis of two comparable groups (As (4) above but under a RCT)

Question 11

What are key moderators?

Answer 11

Larger effect sizes:

• in community than institutional settings
• for personal than for property crimes
• for adolescents and adult rather than young adult offenders
• for higher than for lower risk offenders

Results indicate the importance of:

• targeting criminogenic rather than non-criminogenic needs (e.g. pro criminal attitudes rather than self-esteem)
• multi-model intervention
• organised setting and quality of delivery - services under agency management

Question 12

What is ‘appropriate service’? (Principles of effective interventions)

Answer 12

Matching intensity/dosage to the RISK level

Focussing on the factors associated with reoffending: criminogenic NEEDS

Use powerful influence strategies, tailored to the individual

Maintaining the INTEGRITY of the programme

Question 13

What’s RESPONSIVITY? (Principles of effective interventions)

Answer 13

The how of treatment

Maximise the offenders ability to learn from a rehabilitative intervention by providing cognitive-behavioural treatment and tailoring the intervention to the learning style, motivation, abilities and strengths of the offender.

Question 14

What’s the good lives model?

Answer 14

Increase the overall psychological well-being of offenders