Effectiveness Of Custodial And Non-custodial Responses To Crime Flashcards
1
Q
Introduction
A
- Crime within Scotland is a real and ongoing issue with just under 300,000 crimes in Scotland per year.
- Criminals are punished in a variety of ways however come under two broad factors; Custodial sentences are when the criminals are sentenced and kept in custody.
- Non-Custodial sentences are alternatives to Prison such as Community Payback Orders (CPO) and electronic tags.
- There are many factors to take into consideration when judging which of the two are more effective such as Reoffending rates, Overcrowding in prisons, Costs and Crimes of the highest violence.
- In this essay, it shall be contended that non-custodial crimes should replace all punishments to crime with the exception of crimes of the highest degree
2
Q
high reoffending rates
A
- It can be argued that custodial sentences have failed and should be replaced by non-custodial responses to crime.
- This can be seen in terms of the high reoffending rates after [short term] custodial sentences.
- Evidence of this is according to GOV.UK in July 2023, adults released from Custodial sentences of less than 12 months had a proven reoffending rate of 55.1%.
3
Q
high reoffending rates - Analysis
A
- Arguably this shows that custodial sentences have failed because over half of adults released from Custodial sentences of less than a year go on to reoffend again which shows reoffending rates after custodial sentences are high.
4
Q
Lower reoffending rates
A
- In contrast, non-custodial responses to crime should replace custodial sentences as a result of lower reoffending rates.
- This can be seen by the Scottish Government publishing evidence that community interventions are more effective than short prison sentences in reducing reoffending.
- This is evident when the Scottish Government in June 2019 extended the presumption against short sentences from three to 12 months and helped ensure reoffending rates have since remained at a 20-year low.
5
Q
Lower reoffending rates - Analysis
A
- Arguably, this shows that non-custodial responses to crime should replace custodial sentences because as a result of the reoffending rate being at a two-decade low as a result of extending prison sentences.
6
Q
Reoffending rates - Evaluation
A
- In evaluation, it can be argued that custodial sentences have failed and should be replaced by non-custodial crime as reoffending rates are very high as 55.1% of custodial sentences of less than 12 months go on to reoffend.
- Therefore, custodial sentences should be replaced by non-custodial responses as the extension of presumption against short sentences has proven a reduced reoffending rate.
7
Q
Health and Safety
A
- It can be argued that custodial sentences have failed and should be replaced by non-custodial responses to crime.
- This can be seen in terms of health and safety as prisons are generally heavily overcrowded.
- This is evident when the BBC highlighted in January 2019 that Brian Kinloch in Perth prison remained awaiting trial as he was one of the 662 prisoners when he went in, but the prison capacity was 630.
8
Q
Health and Safety - analysis
A
- This shows that custodial sentences have failed because prisoners’ human rights are being violated as they are in a place of care and their health and safety is put at risk due to large numbers of prisoners.
9
Q
Health and Safety
A
- In contrast, it can be argued that non-custodial responses to crime should replace custodial sentences.
- This can be seen when key politicians highlight the latter as a clear solution to overcrowding.
- This is evident in 2024 there is 60% overcrowding according to the Manchester metropolitan newspaper in England and Wales.
10
Q
Health and Safety - analysis
A
- This shows that non-custodial responses to crime should replace custodial sentences as this shows the population is too big for British prisons to hold which means the conditions in prison are not suitable for prisoners.
11
Q
Health and Safety - evaluation
A
- In evaluation, it could be argued that custodial sentences have failed and should be replaced by non-custodial sentences as prisons are generally overcrowded which can impact on the health and safety of prisoners which can be considered a violation of their human rights.
- Therefore, non-custodial responses to crime should replace custodial sentences as the population of the UK is too big for prisons to hold people so prisons are not suitable for prisoners.
12
Q
cost
A
- It can be argued that custodial responses to crime have failed and should be replaced by non-custodial responses to crime.
- This is because the amount of money spent on housing prisoners is extremely high.
- Evidence shows that from 2022- 23 the budget Scotland allocated was around £3 billion for criminal justice
13
Q
cost - analysis
A
- Arguably, this shows that custodial sentences have failed because too much is being spent on keeping prisoners in prisons and not enough on other important issues.
14
Q
cost
A
- In contrast, non-custodial responses to crime should replace custodial sentences as a result of it being potentially a more cost-effective alternative.
- This can be seen by the increased use of community interventions such as the Community Payback Orders (CPO) being a more cost-effective alternative.
- Evidence of this is the Ministry of Justice has costed CPOs at £1858 per individual per year which is a fraction of the cost of prison.
15
Q
cost - analysis
A
- This shows that non-custodial responses to crime should replace custodial sentences because it is a much cheaper alternative to prison and is also seen to be very effective with more than half of terminations being successful.
