Para 4 Flashcards
What is the point ?
On the other hand, custodial sentences have many challenges?
How can this be expanded?
This could be through several issues such as staffing, overcrowding, smuggling of drugs and violence?
What is an example to follow this?
In 2019, the committee of justice suggested a rise in custodial sentences has greatly contributed to the rising prison population in England and Wales. In 2019, there was 139 prisoners per 100,000 people.
What is analysis of this?
This over population makes rehabilitation extremely challenging and doesn’t allow prisons to be a safe environment due to lack of staff compared to inmate numbers. This results in the consequences of the prison system being unable to meet the inmates basic needs such as healthcare, food and accommodation. In many prisons inmates dont have the minimum space requirements which can result in them spending 23 hours a day in an overcrowded cell.
What is a following point?
Overcrowding often results in violence with violence against inmates doubling in the last decade. A loss of experienced staff due to the issue and pressure of overcrowding has caused a growth in violence against both prisoners and staff.
What analysis can follow this?
This highlights the ineffectiveness of the overuse of custodial sentences leading to overcrowding.
What point can follow?
As well as this, short term custodial sentences have been researched to be extremely ineffective. The revolving doors agency argues that short term sentencing makes it more challenging to support prisoners and reduces the chances for meaningful rehabilitation. This shows the ineffective use of short term custodial sentencing.
What is a following weakness?
Custodial sentencing is also significantly more expensive that non-custodial.
What is an example to follow this?
In 2020/21, the average cost of a prison place in England and Wales was over £48,000 per year. This feeds into the issue of prisons in the UK being severely underfunded.
What is this similar to?
This is similar to the US where in 2020 in the states spent an average of $45,000 per prisoner for the year.
What do these statistics indicate?
These statistics indicate the unaffordable amount of money a custodial sentence is.
What is a mini conclusion?
Overall, custodial sentences have several disadvantages and weaknesses which are extreme challenges to several people. This highlights that altogether, a custodial sentence is not as effective as non-custodial sentences.
