Alternatives to Imprisonment

Question 1

MAIR AND MAY 1997
(How can probation serve as an alternative to imprisonment?)
Background

Answer 1

Probation is a sentence for an offender to be suspended but while being permitted to remain in the community, subject to the control of the court and under the supervision and guidance of a probation officers.

Question 2

MAIR AND MAY 1997
(How can probation serve as an alternative to imprisonment?)
Aim

Answer 2

To investigate the experiences of offenders on probation orders in a cross-section of probation offices in England and Wales.

Question 3

MAIR AND MAY 1997
(How can probation serve as an alternative to imprisonment?)
Method

Answer 3

A survey using a questionnaire.

It was piloted initially with seven probation offices, 24 offenders and then improved before given to the final sample.

Question 4

MAIR AND MAY 1997
(How can probation serve as an alternative to imprisonment?)
Participants

Answer 4

3299 offenders were selected randomly from 22 probation offices and covered all crimes and ages. 40% failed to take part.

Question 5

MAIR AND MAY 1997
(How can probation serve as an alternative to imprisonment?)
Procedure

Answer 5

Data was collected face to face so the questionnaires formed the basis of highly structured interviews.
Interviews were conducted by independently employed researchers. They covered a vast range of questions about the offender’s life and their likelihood of re-offending.
Questions were either multiple choice or had likert scale responses so quantitative data was collected.

Question 6

MAIR AND MAY 1997
(How can probation serve as an alternative to imprisonment?)
Results

Answer 6

• 88% of the sample felt probation was extremely useful.
• Over 60% felt that the probation officer would help them sort out problems and was there to talk to.
• But only 37% felt that this would stop them from re-offending altogether.
• Having someone independent to talk to seemed to be the most useful function of the probation officer and the topics discussed included:
Problems with accommodation, money, family, employment, drugs and alcohol.

Question 7

MAIR AND MAY 1997
(How can probation serve as an alternative to imprisonment?)
Conclusion

Answer 7

Probation is seen in a positive light by offenders (but those who failed to keep their appointments were excluded from the findings as they may have had different views).
Nearly one-third went on to commit another offence (lower than ex-prisoners).

Question 8

SHERMAN AND STRANG 2007
(How is restorative used after a guilty verdict?
Background

Answer 8

Victims of crime often feel that their experience and expectations are not taken into account by the justice system. Restorative justice aims to redress this balance, all parties have to be voluntary to seek a positive outcome.

Question 9

SHERMAN AND STRANG 2007
(How is restorative used after a guilty verdict?)
Aim

Answer 9

The purpose of this review is to look at good practice in restorative justice and to reach a conclusion on its effectiveness with regard to re-offending.

Question 10

SHERMAN AND STRANG 2007
(How is restorative used after a guilty verdict?)
Method

Answer 10

Review article. Using meta-analysis.

Question 11

SHERMAN AND STRANG 2007
(How is restorative used after a guilty verdict?)
Procedure

Answer 11

An internet search was applied to many databases of abstracts and academic periodicals worldwide of the words:
restorative justice
re-offending
recidivism
mediation

They had 424 ‘hits’ for likely pieces of research.
Two researchers then analysed the content of all this research and found ones where a sample of offenders on an RJ programme was compared with a similar sample who did not experience RJ.
This is the minimum standard used by the Home Office in assessing re-conviction rates to arrive at “reasonably unbiased” results.

This yielded 36 studies, which forms the basis for the analysis to identify any evidence of effectiveness.

Question 12

SHERMAN AND STRANG 2007
(How is restorative used after a guilty verdict?)
Results

Answer 12

• Reduction in re-offending was found for violence and property crime but RJ does not work in all cases.
• It is more effective for cases with a personal victim (rather than a company or shop) and when violence was involved.
• It can help improve the mental health of the victim, by reducing post traumatic shock symptoms and helping them come to terms with what has happened to them.

Question 13

SHERMAN AND STRANG 2007
(How is restorative used after a guilty verdict?)
Conclusion

Answer 13

There is strong evidence that Restorative Justice is effective in some cases in reducing reoffending and there is support for its increased use especially with young offenders.

Question 14

EBERHARDT 2006
(Outline research into ‘Looking Deathworthy’)
Background

Answer 14

‘Looking Deathworthy’ is the title given to research by Eberhardt which investigates whether it is true that the more stereotypically black your features, the more likely it is that you will be given a death sentence for your crime. The death penalty has been abolished in most western nations but is still used in 36 US states.

Question 15

EBERHARDT 2006
(Outline research into ‘Looking Deadworthy’)
Aim

Answer 15

To investigate whether there is support for the hypothesis that black offenders with stereotypically black features were more likely to get the death sentence than white offenders.

Question 16

EBERHARDT 2006
(Outline research into ‘Looking Deathworthy’)
Method

Answer 16

Lab experiment.

Question 17

EBERHARDT 2006
(Outline research into ‘Looking Deathworthy’)
Procedure

Answer 17

1. The researchers analysed the database of death penalty cases in Philadelphia, USA between 1979 and 1999. In 44 cases a black man had murdered a white victim.
2. Their photographs were shown to naïve raters who were asked to use the facial features of the men in the photographs to give them a rating of stereotypicality from 1 to 11, where 11 was stereotypical.
   There were 51 raters from Stanford University, who looked at the black and white photographs one at a time for 4 seconds each.
3. The researchers also analysed the influence of a variety of factors on sentencing decisions:
   • Extent to which the defendant had stereotypically black features
   • Mitigating circumstances (factors which could have influenced behaviour)
   • Severity of the murder
   • Socioeconomic status of the victim and defendant
   • The defendant’s attractiveness

Question 18

EBERHARDT 2006
(Outline research into ‘Looking Deathworthy’)
Results

Answer 18

It was found that of all the variables the most significant was that, the most stereotypically black defendants were 57.5% more likely to receive the death sentence than the less stereotypically black defendants.

Question 19

EBERHARDT 2006
(Outline research into ‘Looking Deathworthy’)
Conclusion

Answer 19

There is support for the hypothesis that black offenders with stereotypically black features are more likely to get the death sentence than white offenders.
An explanation for this could be that black physical traits are associated with criminality, and in this case it appears that they influence sentencing decisions.