Dealing with Offending Behaviour - Custodial Sentencing Flashcards
What are the 4 aims of sentencing?
Deterrence, Incapacitation, Retribution and Rehabilitation.
What is Deterrence?
The unpleasant prison experience is designed to put people off of offending. General deterrence deters a whole society, and individual deterrence prevents re-offending to avoid prison again. This is based on behaviourist ideals of conditioning through punishment.
What is Incapacitation?
Criminals are taken out of society to protect the public. It depends on the nature of the offence/offender and severity of the offence.
What is Retribution?
Enacting revenge for the crime by making the offender suffer - the level of suffering should be proportionate to the damage done by the crime.
What is Rehabilitation?
Main purpose is to reform them so they can take a place in society.
They can develop skills and training
Access treatment programmes for drug addiction
What are the 3 psychological effects of sentencing?
Stress and Depression, Institutionalisation and Prisonisation
Explain Stress and Depression in prisons.
Suicide rates are considerably higher in prison, as with self-mutilation/harm. The stress of the prison experience also increases the risk of psychological disturbance following release.
What is Institutionalisation?
Having adapted to the norms and routines of prison life, inmates may become so accustomed to these that they are unable to function on the outside.
What is Prisonisation?
Refers to the way in which prisoners are socialised into adopting an ‘inmate code’. Behaviour that may be considered unacceptable in the outside world may be encourages and rewarded inside the walls of the institution.
What is the problem of recidivism?
Recidivism means reoffending, 45% of UK offenders reoffend. Rates vary with country - 60% in US.
Norway only 20%, due to higher priority placed on rehabilitation rather than retribution.
What is the limitation - Bartol
Bartol suggesting that prison can be brutal, demeaning and devastating. Suicide rates are 9 times higher - most at risk being single men in the first 24 hours. A recent study indicated that 25% of women and 15% of men reported psychosis symptoms. It seems that this oppressive regime can trigger psychological disorders in those that are vulnerable.
What is the strength - pre-existing conditions
Many convicts have had pre-existing psychological and emotional difficulties at the time they were convicted, which potentially causes the offending behaviour. This is a confounding variable that influences the link between prison and psychological effects.
What is the strength - Shirley
The Vera Institute of Justice claims that offender who take part in college education programmes are 43% less likely to reoffend, because this improves chances of employment.
What is the limitation - DA
Incarceration with long-term offenders may influence younger offenders by teaching them tricks and tactics. They may also acquire criminal contacts which they follow up with upon release. This undermines rehabilitation attempts.
